ANP MPA submits notice for including merged districts in NFC award

PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) MPA Nisar Mohmand submitted a call attention notice at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Secretariat on Thursday, asking for including newly-merged tribal districts in the upcoming National Finance Commission Award.

In his call attention notice, Nisar Mohmand, elected from Mohmand district, said that the provincial government was responsible to include the erstwhile tribal areas into the National Finance Commission award and raise its voice for three percent share in the federal divisible pool.

He stated that the former tribal areas had been merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa three years ago and the federal government had pledged that the newly merged districts would not only be given a special financial package but also three percent share would be specified for the development of the newly merged tribal districts. However, neither the federal government nor the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had raised and resolve this issue in last three years, the ANP MPA stated in his notice. Nisar Mohmand said that if the government fails to include the newly merged tribal districts into the National Finance Commission Award, then the whole tribal belt (former tribal areas) would be deprived of its share in the national resources. He said the tribal districts had already remained backward and underdeveloped for the last 70 years and if the elected governments in the Center and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could not fulfill pledges with the tribal people, then there would be no developmental works and projects in next few years in their areas.

Meanwhile, Central president of the Awami National Party Asfandyar Wali Khan, central senior vice-president Ameer Haider Hoti and provincial president Aimal Wali Khan expressed grief over the death of Haji Latif Rehman, ANP district president Mardan and Khudai Khidmatgar, and said that the party lost a sincere and devoted activist. They prayed for the departed soul to rest in peace and expressed deep condolences with the bereaved family.