PESHAWAR: The 48th meeting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi via video link from Islamabad, approved a series of major initiatives in health, social welfare, agriculture, education, and infrastructure. Cabinet members, senior officials, and administrative secretaries attended the session.
Speaking to the media, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations Shafi Jan said that the Cabinet allocated Rs 4,065.12 million to meet critical human resource needs in the health sector. A total of 2,439 fixed pay positions for medical officers, dental surgeons, and nurses, including in the Merged Districts, will be created, with recruitment conducted via walk-in interviews by Divisional Level Departmental Selection Committees under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department Contract Appointment of Doctors Fixed Pay Rules 2022, amended in 2025.
The Cabinet also approved the establishment of breast screening centres at five divisional headquarters, the transfer of 15 kanal of land for a nursing college in Upper Chitral, and cost enhancements for the Women and Children Hospital Sarai Naurang project.
On social welfare, the Cabinet approved the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Vagrancy Control and Rehabilitation Bill 2025, introducing a rights-based and rehabilitation-centered framework. The legislation addresses organized and forced beggary, protects children, prescribes penalties for exploitative practices, and establishes institutional oversight through a Provincial Steering Committee and a dedicated non-lapsable Rehabilitation Fund.
In agriculture, the Cabinet approved the Hybrid Wheat Procurement and Strategic Reserves Policy 2026, aiming to gradually transition from a state-dominated wheat procurement model to a market-based approach with price stability and enhanced private sector participation. The Cabinet also sanctioned taking up wheat-related liabilities of Rs 38.042 billion with the Federal Government for adjustment against PASSCO liabilities of Rs 41.97 billion.
The Cabinet approved a grant of Rs 196 million for laptops under the Chief Minister’s Digital Inclusion Programme for Minority Students enrolled in BS, MBBS, Engineering, MPhil, MS, and PhD programmes. Proposed amendments to the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 were also approved.
For infrastructure development, the Cabinet approved land transfers for a Ladies and Children Park on Kohat Road Peshawar, the extension of the Judicial Complex in Hangu, and land acquisition funding for the Peshawar–Dera Ismail Khan Motorway through intra- and inter-sectoral resource reallocation.
The Tirah Model Financial Assistance Package will be extended to 6,505 additional affected families in District Khyber. A private sector representative was also nominated to the Private Power and Infrastructure Board.
