PESHAWAR: A significant step toward inclusive and rights-based urban development was taken in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly when Aiman Jalil, Member Provincial Assembly (JUI-F), moved a Call Attention Notice seeking amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Urban Policy 2022–2030 to explicitly include education, with a particular focus on girls’ education and out-of-school children (OOSC). The move aims to correct a critical policy gap by linking urban development with human development outcomes and ensuring that education is recognized as a core component of sustainable and inclusive cities.
The KP Urban Policy 2022–2030 provides a comprehensive framework for managing urban growth in the province, with a strong focus on land use, housing, transport, municipal services, climate resilience, gender responsiveness, and social mobility. However, despite these commitments, the policy remains largely silent on education, particularly on the challenges faced by girls and out-of-school children in urban poor and marginalized communities. This gap is especially concerning given that access to education in urban areas is directly influenced by city planning, safety, mobility, and the availability of public services.
Through the Call Attention Notice, the MPA Aiman Jalil highlighted the need to amend the Urban Policy in line with Pakistan’s constitutional obligation under Article 25-A and its international commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education. The notice emphasizes that without integrating education into urban planning frameworks, urbanization risks deepening inequality, limiting social mobility, and excluding girls and vulnerable children from opportunities for learning and development.
Welcoming the move, Qamar Naseem, Education Champion and Program Manager at Blue Veins, appreciated the initiative as timely and transformative. He stated, “This Call Attention Notice is a courageous and much-needed intervention. Urban development without education, particularly girls’ education, only reproduces inequality. By seeking amendments to the KP Urban Policy, Aiman Jalil has rightly positioned education as an urban justice and social mobility issue.
Speaking on the rationale behind the notice, Aiman Jalil said, “Our cities cannot truly progress if girls are denied education and thousands of children remain out of school. Urban policies must reflect the lived realities of our communities so that urban growth translates into real opportunities for girls and marginalized children.
Civil society organizations, girls students and citizens have urged the provincial government to respond positively to the Call Attention Notice by introducing appropriate amendments or addenda to the Urban Policy and ensuring that education particularly for girls and out-of-school children is meaningfully integrated into future city planning and implementation processes across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
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