Rehabilitation, reconstruction of newly-merged districts agreed

PESHAWAR: Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (R) Dost Muhammad Khan and the caretaker federal Minister for Information and Law Syed Ali Zafar on Wednesday agreed to the overall rehabilitation and reconstruction of newly-merged districts of erstwhile Fata into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

At a meeting here, they also agreed to install an efficient governance structure, give quick relief to the people of Fata and more importantly to mainstream them.

A handout said the caretaker federal minister briefed the chief minister on the quick measures, the transfer of resources from the federal government to the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the legal irritants, the constitutional position, the overall proposed exemption of Fata from federal and provincial taxes and the collective responsibility for the infrastructure development in the newly-merged districts.

The chief minister and caretaker federal Minister agreed to the continuation of Riwaj in addition to the extension of legal procedures.

The abrupt removal of reconciliation might disturb the situation and would also overburden the legal course in the tribal area.

It will also discourage the lengthy litigation and would continue to be a locally facilitated justice system that was the centuries old and part of the people was comfortable with the system.

Earlier, the chief minister received the federal government sub-committee headed by Caretaker Federal Minister for information and Law Syed Ali Zafar on law reforms.

They had a detailed meeting on the Fata reforms that discussed the legal, administrative, the law and order situation, the security and developmental package for mainstreaming the tribal, the overall reconstruction and rehabilitation of newly merged districts into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the extension of different public sector institutions to the newly merged districts.

The meeting also focused on the modus operandi for the extension of judiciary to the newly merged districts, the revival of economic activities, the establishment of public sector Universities and colleges, the new system of governance to mitigate the sufferings of tribal, jobs for the jobless youth, the creation of divisional headquarters, district headquarters and the challenges posed by the emerging situation in the wake of merger and the exemption of taxes both of federal and provincial governments.

Both parties agreed to an ordinance or notification by the federal government to remove the legal weaknesses in the law for the merger of new districts into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The process of implementation would take off soon after the ordinance.