Efforts on to develop tribal districts, says Pervez Khattak

BARA: Defence Minister Pervez Khattak has said that all facilities would be provided to the tribal districts soon.

Speaking at a public meeting in Bar Qambarkhel in Bara subdivision on Sunday, he said the security forces and tribal people had rendered sacrifices in the prolonged militancy in the region.

He added that the government would issue Rs1 billion for development projects in erstwhile Fata in June, this year.

The defence minister said the government would rebuild the destroyed educational institutions, roads, hospitals and also build new ones.

He said the government would form an inquiry committee to probe the recent Hayatabad counter.

“Due to excessive load-shedding in tribal districts, the government intends to build small dams to provide electricity and water for irrigation to people,” Pervez Khattak said. He said the tribal belt was full of the natural resources and the government tried to tap it for the benefit of the militancy-hit people. Khattak hoped the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers would to nominate those candidates for next provincial and local government elections who could work for the development of the tribal belt.

He said that peace and tranquillity had been restored in tribal areas and the government would remove unnecessary security forces checkposts soon.

The government will provide 77 percent budget to the local bodies’ members for spending on development schemes in the tribal belt as was given to the other districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he maintained.

The defence minister said the government would remove restrictions on motorbikes playing and reopen Basey Baba Mountain for the crush machines, where hundreds of tribal people would earn a livelihood for their families.

“For the houses destroyed in militancy, the government will release compensation cheques soon,” he said, adding that security forces would vacate the houses in the area.

He said the government would set up a gate in Hayatabad for entry of tribal people as thousands of people have been facing problems for the last several years. The defence minister claimed the government would issue Sehat Insaf Cards to the tribal people. He said the PTI government’s intended to extend loans to the graduates. “The government will give Rs10,000 stipend to the prayer leaders of mosques in the tribal districts,” Pervez Khattak said, adding that solar system would also be arranged for them.

He said the government wanted to provide quality education to the tribal children as they had suffered during the one and a half decades long militancy.

The defence minister said he would consult the Peshawar corps commander to build a cadet college in Bara subdivision.

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri, Provincial Minister for Information Shaukat Yousafzai, Member National Assembly (MNA) from Bara Iqbal Afridi, PTI senior leaders Shah Khalid Afridi, Shafeeq Afridi and Zubair Afridi were present on the occasion.

Due to a protest by some PTI activists, Noorul Haq Qadri and other provincial ministers did not address the gathering.