PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Thursday urged students to stand up to claim the constitutional and legal rights of the province and said his government would raise its voice against injustices.

`The corrupt mafia, which has taken over the country, has ruined the country`s economy. It has committed record corruption of Rs5.3 trillion, the chief minister said during a surprise visit to the University of Peshawar`s Economics department.

He asked the vice chancellor to present doable proposals for financial self-sufficiency of the university, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister`s House.

Mr Afridi said that the federal government had to pay KP Rs2.2 trillion net hydel profit, Rs1.375 trillion funds under National Finance Commission Award for merged districts and billions of rupees under the head of water charges.

He said that the merged districts were promised Rs100 billion annually but only Rs168 billion were provided.

`Rs532 billion has yet to be paid,he said, calling for the holding of student debates on the province`s rights in universities across the province.

The chief minister said that the provincial government would include scholarships and special financial packages for students in the next budget. He said that the provincial government was working on an internship policy for students.

Talking about the current law and order situation in the province, the chief minister said that the decisions, made behind closed doors, had caused irreparable loss to the province.

He said that all possible efforts were being made to ensure lasting peace in the province.

Mr Afridi said that the gross domestic product during the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan was 6.2 per cent but it had dropped to 2.6 per cent.

He also sought proposals for providing food to university students living in hostels on concessional rates and announced upgradation of the computer lab of the Economics department.

The chief minister also announced a Rs50.3 billion grant for the solarisation of Economics, Political Science and IM Studies departments.