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Thursday March 28, 2024

Apex Committee decides to revive: Darra Adamkhel arms manufacturing factories

By Syed Bukhar Shah
December 13, 2018

PESHAWAR: Provincial Minister for Information Shaukat Ali Yousafzai on Wednesday said the arms manufacturing factories in Darra Adamkhel that were redundant for years would be revived to create jobs for 30,000 people.

He said the decision was taken at the Apex Committee meeting held at the Governor House.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Corps Commander Peshawar Lieutenant General Mazhar Shaheen Mehmood, Inspector General Frontier Corps Major General Abid Latif, Commandant Frontier Constabulary Moazzam Jah Ansari, Chief Secretary Kamran Naveed Baloch, Inspector General of Police Salahuddin Mahsud and other officials attended the meeting.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, the minister said that another 30,000 youths from the tribal districts would be employed in the police force. He said they would include 1,000 Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASIs).

He said the meeting had decided that a special quota for youths in the employment would be reserved in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

Shaukat Yousafzai said the provincial government was prepared and had made arrangements for holding elections in the newly-merged tribal districts in April and May next year.

He said the KP government would hold elections in the tribal districts after getting the green signal from the Election Commission of Pakistan.

He informed that the provincial government would construct playgrounds in 25 tehsils of ex-Fata.

He said that the Levies and Khassadar force personnel would be retained and their salaries increased from Rs12,000 to Rs18,000.

The minister said the uniforms of the Levies and Khassadar force would not be changed. He added that the Special Branch of the police would be extended to the former Fata.

Shaukat Yousafzai explained that the jirga system and Dispute Resolution Councils (DRCs) would be made effective in erstwhile Fata in accordance with the wishes of the tribal people. He said the DRCs were already functioning in the province.

He said that Rs1 billion had been allocated to provide interest-free loan to the youths in the tribal districts.

Responding to a question, he said the Fata Reforms Committee had not been dissolved, saying all the four members including him had been inducted in the apex committee.

After the merger of tribal areas, he said all the departments including health and education, would be made effective with the consultation of the tribal people.

He said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor had reserved huge land in Michini Industrial State for the arm manufacturing factories of Darra Adamkhel. He said that 8,000 people would directly benefit from thes industries and another 30,000 indirectly.

Special incentives would be given to the arm manufacturers if they want to shift from Darra Adamkhel to Michini Industrial State, he said, adding, nobody would object to the former tribal areas getting share from the National Finance Commission Award.

He pointed out that the federal government has committed to provide Rs100 billion yearly to the former Fata for the next 10 years for bringing it at par with rest of Pakistan.

He said the government has already announced to expand the health cards to tribal districts for the welfare and prosperity of the hitherto neglected areas.

The minister said the tribal people had reservations over minor issues and the government would remove them.

Answering a question, Shaukat Yousafzai said the next budget for the merged tribal districts would be presented in the provincial assembly.

The government would give importance to the development of the tribal districts, he said, adding, Fata Secretariat had been abolished and merged into the provincial government.

He said the Apex Committee had recommended declaring the tribal districts as hard areas.

The committee, he said, has also decided to fulfill the shortage of staff in the educational institutions and hospitals in the tribal districts and ensure the presence of teachers and doctors.

He said independent monitoring units would be expanded to the tribal districts and appointments would be made at district level.