PESHAWAR (Kashmir English): The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has also announced a free laptop scheme for students in the province, vowing to match the percentage of laptop recipients in Punjab.
The announcement to this effect came from Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
“If Punjab provides laptops to a certain percentage of students, we will do the same,” said Gandapur. He also challenged Punjab to compete his government by offering free health insurance cards similar to those provided in his province.
Gandapur highlighted the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province’s healthcare initiatives, stating that they have given their entire population the Sehat Card Plus and were now offering life insurance.
He challenged the Punjab government to extend similar benefits to its residents.
He also claimed that the KP government had increased revenue by 55% despite financial challenges, contrasting it with Punjab’s performance.
“Punjab’s revenue growth is only 12%. Let them increase it to 55% like us,” he challenged.
Regarding fiscal management, Gandapur asserted that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had a budget surplus of Rs176bn and was the only province in the country to meet the International Monetary Fund targets.
“Punjab was given an IMF surplus target of Rs300 billion but instead recorded a deficit of Rs146 billion,” he remarked.
The chief minister also announced financial support for underprivileged brides, saying that the KP government would facilitate the weddings of 4,000 deserving girls, providing each with Rs200,000.
Gandapur also challenged Punjab’s governance, saying that he was ready for a debate. “Punjab’s performance does not even match 1% of ours,” he claimed.
Punjab’s laptop scheme
The Punjab government has announced minimum eligibility of 65 percent marks for students to get a free laptop under CM Laptop Scheme 2025.
The provincial government has increased the number of laptops for students by 10,000 to 110,000 in order to provide the machine to more students.
CM Maryam Nawaz has emphasised that both the laptops are the right of every child and the responsibility of the provincial government.
