Tribal MPAs ask govt to undertake uplift projects in merged districts

PESHAWAR: Irrespective of political affiliations, almost all the newly elected Members Provincial Assembly (MPAs) from the merged districts in maiden speeches on the assembly floor on Tuesday asked the government to develop their respective constituencies socially, economically and politically.

After taking oath as members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani provided the opportunity to the lawmakers from the erstwhile tribal agencies to take the floor and express gratitude and commitment as public representatives.

Being a senior and experienced lawmaker Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) woman MPA Naeema Kishwar, who has been elected on women reserved seats, said people of the former tribal areas had been deprived of basic rights for the last 72 years and the federal as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments should allocate more development funds for building schools, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure in merged districts.

She said that the federal government should honour its pledge to give its due share in National Finance Commission (NFC) Award to the merged districts. The legislator said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government should implements its decision on employment in the government and private sectors to the local people.

The JUI-F MPA said that the previous PTI-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had made a commitment that the merged districts would be exempted from all taxes for the next 10 years and the present provincial government should honour the commitment.

Parliamentary party leader of the Balochistan Awami Party and MPA from PK-106 Khyber Bilawal Afridi said that it was a historic moment that the tribal people had been given representation in the provincial assembly. He gave the credit to all political parties and lawmakers who had strived for the merger of tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The BAP lawmaker said the people of former tribal areas had been deprived of education and health facilities and the government should now establish a network of schools and colleges in their respective constituencies particularly in Khyber district where he claimed majority of the school buildings were destroyed in militancy.

Nisar Mohmand of Awami National Party from Mohmand district said that the people of former tribal agencies had suffered as a result of militancy and military operations until recent past and now the government should rehabilitate and compensate the local people for their losses.

“Our sacrifices for peace and stability of Pakistan are numerous but instead of rewarding our people they were treated as second class citizens,” he said and added that the time has come to bring on a par the tribal districts with rest of the country in term of social, economic and political development.

Jamaat-e-Islami MPA Sirajuddin from the Bajaur district said that the provincial government should provide employment opportunities to the local people in government while giving them relaxation in age and educational qualification.

He said all the displaced and homeless people from Bajaur, Mohmand and other merged districts should be facilitated to return their home towns and they should be compensated for their losses.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPAs Anwar Zeb Khan, Ajmal Khan and others lauded the federal government for holding free and fair election in the erstwhile tribal areas and appreciated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for allocating more funds for the merged districts.