KP CM reviews ADP, announces support for journalists, youth employment

PESHAWAR, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2026) Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi on Monday chaired an important meeting on the Annual Development Programme (ADP), where several new projects related to media, IT, law, mining, labour, and youth empowerment were reviewed.

According to a spokesperson for the Chief Minister’s House, the meeting discussed new development schemes for the departments of Information and Public Relations, Science and Technology, Information Technology, Law, Mines and Minerals, and Labour.

During the meeting, the CM directed officials to propose a scheme for providing interest-free loans to journalists for establishing media production and broadcasting setups.

He said such loans would help young journalists become self-employed, establish their own platforms, and perform their professional duties independently and without external pressure.

Sohail Afridi also instructed the authorities to prepare schemes for establishing media colonies for journalists and improving press clubs in merged districts to strengthen journalism infrastructure across the province.

The meeting was also informed about proposals for setting up daycare centers in all judicial complexes, establishing a Judicial academy in Peshawar, and constructing district judicial complexes in Bajaur and Mansehra.

The CM directed officials to propose amendments to further strengthen workplace harassment laws and ensure confidentiality in complaint proceedings to provide better protection for employees, especially women.

He also ordered the formulation of a comprehensive scheme to eliminate child labour in the province and bring affected children into the education system so they could secure a better future.

In the mining sector, he stressed maximum plantation in mining areas and reviewed proposals for geological mapping of minerals, placer gold exploration, and an integrated geoscience survey and data repository for critical minerals.

For the IT sector, proposals included the establishment of a Drone Centre of Excellence, a Cyber Security Operation Centre, digital cities in merged districts, digital internship programmes for youth, and technology incubation centres to promote innovation and employment opportunities.

Schemes were also proposed to strengthen mine rescue, safety, and training centres in merged districts to improve worker safety and technical capacity in the mining sector.