PESHAWAR - Additional Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shahab Ali Shah on Thursday said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is ensuring best possible transit and commercial trade routes to facilitate trade with Afghanistan.
He expressed these views during a high-level consultative session held to discuss the draft Urban Policy for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Shahab Ali Shah said that once approved it will be the first urban policy by any province of the country. The session was organised by UK’s FCDO-supported Sub-National Governance (SNG) Programme in collaboration with KP Planning & Development Department’s Urban Policy & Planning Unit (UPPU).
Speaking on this occasion, Shahid Mahmood, Additional Secretary, Planning & Development Department, said that the policy will pave way for inclusive opportunities for individuals, businesses and communities in urban centres, leading towards social and economic uplift while ensuring environmental sustainability.
During his technical presentation, Dr Naveed Iftikhar from SNG Programme explained that rapid urbanization at an unprecedented pace is seen in Peshawar, Hazara, and Swat regions. A lack of holistic urban policy is leading to multiple challenges in service delivery and haphazard growth in cities.
It is necessary to streamline and delineate the overlapping mandates of various entities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Urban Development Authorities and Local Area Development Authorities. Environmental considerations in urban growth have been lacking across all cities.
The consultative session provided opportunity to representatives of provincial government’s line departments, local administrations, private sector, academia, development partners, civil society organizations including women and youth groups to offer inputs and comments on the draft Urban Policy which will soon be submitted to the relevant forums for approval.
He expressed these views during a high-level consultative session held to discuss the draft Urban Policy for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Shahab Ali Shah said that once approved it will be the first urban policy by any province of the country. The session was organised by UK’s FCDO-supported Sub-National Governance (SNG) Programme in collaboration with KP Planning & Development Department’s Urban Policy & Planning Unit (UPPU).
Speaking on this occasion, Shahid Mahmood, Additional Secretary, Planning & Development Department, said that the policy will pave way for inclusive opportunities for individuals, businesses and communities in urban centres, leading towards social and economic uplift while ensuring environmental sustainability.
During his technical presentation, Dr Naveed Iftikhar from SNG Programme explained that rapid urbanization at an unprecedented pace is seen in Peshawar, Hazara, and Swat regions. A lack of holistic urban policy is leading to multiple challenges in service delivery and haphazard growth in cities.
It is necessary to streamline and delineate the overlapping mandates of various entities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Urban Development Authorities and Local Area Development Authorities. Environmental considerations in urban growth have been lacking across all cities.
The consultative session provided opportunity to representatives of provincial government’s line departments, local administrations, private sector, academia, development partners, civil society organizations including women and youth groups to offer inputs and comments on the draft Urban Policy which will soon be submitted to the relevant forums for approval.