By Fazal Amin Shinwari
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednesday highlighted the performance of the Auqaf and Religious Affairs Department, announcing wide-ranging reforms in religious education, digitization of Auqaf assets, development projects and welfare initiatives for minority communities.
Addressing a joint press conference, Provincial Information Minister Shafi Jan and Minister for Auqaf and Religious Affairs Sahibzada Muhammad Adnan Qadri said the government remained committed to transparency and institutional reforms.
Mr. Shafi Jan said the KP government was the only provincial administration regularly presenting its performance before the media. He said work was underway to modernize registered seminaries through computer laboratories and library facilities, adding that progress had also been made on the issue of seminary registration.
Mr. Qadri said the government had introduced an honorarium for Imams in 2021 and was currently providing financial assistance to 16,818 Imams across the province. He added that the digitization of Auqaf properties, electronic billing, and online collection of lease payments had significantly improved transparency and governance.
The minister said the government was providing 1,000 laptops to seminary students, implementing the Rahmatul-lil-Alameen Scholarship Programme for 3,513 students, establishing 50 computer laboratories, and had completed library projects in 210 seminaries. Capacity-building programmes for 1,000 teachers and 1,000 students had also been completed.
On development, he said 221 construction and rehabilitation schemes had been completed, while 531 projects were under execution. Work was also progressing on 290 development schemes in the merged districts.
Mr. Qadri said the provincial cabinet had approved the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Historical Mosques and Shrines Fund Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2025, aimed at strengthening the preservation and restoration of historical mosques and shrines.
Highlighting minority welfare, he said the government had increased the minority development budget by 122 percent and launched welfare projects worth over Rs1.44 billion. More than 1,200 minority youth had received vocational training, while new programmes would focus on digital skills, scholarships, preparation for competitive examinations, and employment opportunities.
He added that grants had been provided to 184 minority places of worship, scholarships had been awarded to 772 minority students, and financial assistance had been approved for 197 victims of terrorism under the Minority Endowment Fund. The chief minister had also approved doubling the fund’s seed money to Rs400 million to strengthen long-term support for affected families.
The ministers said the government’s initiatives reflected its commitment to transparency, religious harmony, institutional reforms and inclusive development across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
