Consultative meeting: Speakers ask govt to hold elections in tribal districts, release funds

PESHAWAR: The speakers at a consultative meeting here on Wednesday urged the government to immediately hold elections in the newly merged tribal districts for the provincial assembly and local governments.

They also asked for release of funds for the development of the tribal districts under the National Finance Commission award at the earliest.

The meeting titled “Mainstreaming Fata - The Way Forward Post-Merger with KP” was arranged by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) and was attended by current and former members of the parliament from the tribal districts, bureaucrats and senior media persons.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members of National Assembly Iqbal Afridi from Khyber and Sajid Mohmand from Mohmand tribal districts, former MNA Shahabuddin Khan, CRSS executive director Imtiaz Gul, ANP lawmaker Shagufta Malik, Dr Noreen Naseer, and journalists Ibrahim Shinwari and Safiullah Gul were among those present on the occasion.

The PTI representatives said that their party would take steps for repealing the new Interim Governance Regulation for the merged areas as it was in conflict with the democratic ideals enshrined in the Constitution.

Appreciating the services and sacrifices of the Khassadars for restoring peace in the erstwhile Fata, they suggested that instead of disbanding the force it should be merged with the Levies in view of the economic reliance of thousands of families on the employment opportunities offered by the force.

Shahabuddin Khan, a former MNA from Bajaur, said that the Rs100 billion funds recommended for the tribal districts by the Fata Reforms Committee should be provided at the earliest to overcome the grievances of the people living there. “It will help overcome their 70-year old sense of deprivation and also promote socio-economic development activities there,” he said.

He emphasised the need for development of education and healthcare facilities in the erstwhile tribal areas. He said that the tribal people should also give up old ways of thinking and backward traditions. “The tribal elders should educate their children to help them compete with the people of other parts of the country,” he added.

Imtiaz Gul said that tribal youth need opportunities for active and effective participation in the democratic processes and national socio-political life. “There is dire need for delegation of powers to the democratic representatives of the tribal districts as an essential prerequisite for democratic development,” he argued.

“The task ahead is to identify, articulate and amplify the strategies to bring Fata on a par with other regions,” he added.