All provinces had pledged 3pc of NFC to merged areas: Shibli Faraz

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz Monday said majority of people of tribal districts were happy with their merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Replying to questions during a news conference here on completion of one year of merger of erstwhile Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shibli made it clear that they had never claimed that the merged districts had been transformed into a paradise, but there had been many good developments in the areas.

The minister argued that the people benefiting from the decades-old system were opposed to the merger but they were in minority.

“There are some people, who are unwilling to hear good news. Our first target is to bring the merged districts on a par with the rest of Pakistan. If there are problems in other parts of Pakistan, then it is understood that there are more in the tribal merged districts, as these have already been lagging behind,” he maintained.

He pointed out that the holding of first ever elections in the merged districts was a very significant development and now the elected representatives would fight their respective areas’ rights.

Replying to a question, the minister said the government had thrashed out a 10-year programme for the merged districts and before time, the set targets were being achieved. He said the merged areas would soon get all the basic facilities like education, health cover, and clean drinking water.

Responding to a question about the establishment of cantonments and check posts in the merged districts, the minister said there were both good and bad aspects of these areas due to their proximity to the Afghan border.

“Those areas have been a victim of terrorism and this underlines how sensitive it is to ensure law and order and maintain security there. This aspect just can’t be ignored,” he noted. The minister pointed out that besides terrorism, these areas had been witnessing smuggling, which had badly affected the national economy.

“However, whatever things are to be done, would be decided through the people’s representatives and keeping in view the element of security,” he contended.

He emphasized that things would be done in the settled areas as per the law. The minister spoke highly of the role of local people and the armed force in the establishment of peace in the now merged areas. The minister noted that the people of erstwhile Fata were close to the heart of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was fully determined for their empowerment and development.

All political parties, he said, had supported the 25th constitutional amendment, which envisaged the merger of tribal areas with the KP. He said there was a centuries-old system of governance in the former Fata and extension of provincial writ there was a big challenge. He congratulated the KP Chief Minister Mehmood Khan and his team for achieving many targets ahead of time.

He said there were many hurdles in the process but the KP government overcame them with the guidance of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who personally monitored the whole process.

He said the biggest challenge was establishment of judicial system, which had facilitated the access of tribal people to justice. The minister pointed out that the levies were now part of the local police that was a praiseworthy step. This step of the government, he said, had saved the job of thousands of people.

For brining the merged areas on a par with rest of the country, he noted that Rs100 billion had been earmarked for a period of 10 years and all the provinces had promised to give 3 per cent from the share of their resources.

He said unfortunately Sindh had not so far committed its share for the development of tribal areas and expressed hope that the province would contribute to the effort.

The minister explained that 1,297 vacancies had been created in the health sector, 4,495 in the education sector, 1,800 in 1122.

He said the Sehat Insaf Card facility had been provided to the people of former Fata, which was a flagship project of the government for the marginalised segments of the society. He continued that 1297 vacancies of doctors, nurses, and paramedics were also available for appointment from these areas.

He said in the education sector 2,000 additional classrooms had been built, 1100 classrooms renovated and arrangements made for provision of clean drinking water to the educational institutions.

He said over 2,200 wash rooms were built in the schools of the merged districts and solarization of over 2200 schools was done to prove them with electricity adding that the boundary walls of 844 educational institutions had also been built.

Moreover, he said educational vouchers were given for 4,75,000 out-of-school children and 104 school buses were arranged. He said the services of 4,315 teachers were hired and free of cost books were made available for the students of merged areas.

Shibli said special attentions was paid to keep the Torkam border with Afghanistan open for trade and local roads were built for enhanced economic and trade activity.

Shibli said the government with the consultation of local people had devised a mines and minerals policy which would help utilization of local natural resources for the development of the areas.