Peshawar:
In an effort to boost the tourism sector, which has been hard hit by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the county chief executive directed the acceleration of efforts to open the newly established county tourism authority.
Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Mahmood Khan, issued these orders while chairing the 22nd meeting of the Board of Directors of the Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCK-P).
CM Mahmood directed that formalities for inauguration of the newly established Cultural Tourism Authority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be completed immediately.
The Prime Minister also ordered steps to be taken to liquidate TCK-P and hand over its assets and liabilities to the Culture and Tourism Authority. He added that TCK-P employees will be absorbed into the authority.
The Prime Minister described tourism as a key economic sector and said promoting it was a top priority for his government.
The meeting was briefed on the progress made so far on the liquidation of TCK-P following the establishment of the Culture and Tourism Authority as stipulated in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Act, 2019.
The meeting decided to form a committee headed by Khyber Pakhtun Party Additional Secretary Shakeel Qadir to simplify and expedite all legal, administrative and financial matters regarding the liquidation of TCK-P in a prescribed manner.
The committee formulates its recommendations and presents them to the relevant forum within a week. Other members of the committee will be the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Law, the Minister of Tourism, and the Minister of Corporation.
The meeting was attended by KP Chief Secretary Dr Kazim Niaz, Additional Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir, Finance Minister Atif Rehman, Tourism Minister Kushal Khan, TCK-P Director General Junaid Khan, private sector board members and other concerned officials.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28y2020.