Tribal elders urge govt to honour promises

HANGU: The elders of Orakzai tribal district on Tuesday asked the government to honour the promises made with the people during the merger of erstwhile tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Speaking at a grand jirga in Mishti Mela area in Central Orakzai, elders Malik Mehrban, Malik Izzat Gul, Malik Munsif, Malik Saar Khan, Malik Ismail Khan, Malik Khan Badshah, Malik Firdous and others said the government should lift ban on wood cutting in the district as the residents could not afford import of timber from other districts for construction.

They said the Khassadar force had been merged with the police but not yet given perks and privileges like the police. The elders said that mineral resources were their asset and should be retained by them.

They said the assessment of the damaged houses during militancy in central Orakzai had not yet been made, adding, the health and education facilities should also be provided.

The elders resented that the lawmakers did not bother to visit their constituencies after being elected from the district, nor had they launched any development schemes so far.

They said that the jobless youth should be accommodated in the non-government organisations in the district.

The elders alleged that sub-standard materials were being used in the ongoing uplift schemes and there was no one to take notice of the alleged corruption in the area. “In our view, the old system of ex-Fata was far better than the one introduced after the merger if the government cannot materialize the promises made with the tribal people,” Malik Izzat Khan said.