CM Mahmood calls for patience on merger process

K-P CM Mahmood Khan says govt rehabilitated 19 of the 126 damaged schools in tribal district

BARA: With the provincial government facing stern criticism on its lethargy in merging the tribal districts with the rest of the province, the chief minister on Wednesday reminded them that the merger process was outlined as a five-year project.

“Political opponents, who are criticising governance of the incumbent government, should know that the merger of erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata) into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) was a five-year programme,” K-P Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said while visiting Bara in the Khyber Tribal District on Wednesday.

Mahmood quickly claimed that the provincial government has completed the project within a year, including the first provincial assembly elections in the tribal areas and inclusion of elected representatives from these areas in the provincial cabinet.

Addressing a public rally in the war-ravaged rally — which served as the last bastion of militants and saw some of the most intense fighting under multiple military operations to oust the terrorists — chief minister said that his government was committed to bringing the Newly Merged Tribal Districts (NMTDs) at par with the developed areas of the province.

In this regard, he announced that the provincial government will start restoration work on as many as 50 damaged schools in the tribal district as soon as next month. He added that the government has already rehabilitated 19 of the 126 damaged schools in the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2020.