KP CM criticises Centre for freezing tribal districts' health funds

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Mahmood Khan has sharply reacted to the discontinuation of funds for the tribal districts’ Sehat Card Plus programme, ARY News reported on Monday.  

According to details, the KP chief minister wrote a letter to Federal Health Minister Dr Abdul Qadir Patel and strongly reacted to the discontinuation of funds for the tribal region’s health insurance scheme.

In the letter, Mahmood Khan pointed out that the tribal people were the most affected during the war on terror. “The Centre’s decision to freeze the merged districts’ budget is an insult to the sacrifices of tribal people,” he added.

The KP’s chief minister further said that the Centre’s decision would lead to a severe sense of deprivation among the people of the province. “The federal government should immediately reconsider its decision and restore the funds,” he urged.

He noted that the people of the merged districts did not factor into KP’s share under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, hence it was imperative that the federal government shift its Sehat Sahulat programme for ex-Fata to the province along with the corresponding financial resources.

The Chief Minister added that the provincial government hasn’t received the full share of distributable revenue for the merged districts. “The funds of the merged districts have been reduced from Rs 85 billion to Rs 60 billion,” he added.