To develop the war-torn merged tribal district of South Waziristan, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan directed to draft a development plan, identifying schemes for education, health and public health engineering sectors.
He issued these directions while presiding over a meeting of a task force on Appraisal of Governance, Development and Security in South Waziristan.
Mahmood directed the relevant authorities and departments to strictly follow timelines set for the completion of developmental projects in the tribal district.
He further clarified that the entire development process, including identification of schemes, designing and planning, implementation and supervision of developmental schemes in the tribal district should be ensured transparently and effectively.
“Tribal people should get the benefits of the merger,” he said.
Further, he directed the disbursement process for compensation under Citizens Losses Compensation Programme should be completed on a fast-track basis with dedicated staff. Under the programme, more than 40,000 cheques have been disbursed whereas another 36,000 cheques will be distributed soon.
The meeting was told that a local government structure has been set up, including an office of the assistant director of local government apart from offices of Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs) was in the process. Similarly, recruitment for village and neighbourhood councils is underway. It was further informed that work on 35 developmental schemes in roads sectors out of total 45 schemes has started and eight schemes are due for completion.
To resolve administration issues in the interim, he directed the relevant authorities to ensure a setup for the newly established tehsils of the tribal district. However, the establishment of a proper district headquarters was identified as a long-term solution.
For this purpose, a committee was constituted comprising the South Waziristan commissioner and other relevant officials. The committee was told to draft a set of recommendations after consulting with local tribes.
Participants of the meeting were told that of the 836.1 kilometre-long border with Afghanistan in the district, around 739.6km has been fenced.
On setting up police stations to ensure the writ of the state, the meeting was told that an umbrella scheme has been approved by the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) for building police stations, check posts, offices of the special branch and counter-terrorism department (CTD) in the district an estimated cost of Rs1.01 billion.
Similarly, a plan has been chalked out for training 4,000 police personnel apart from training 900 levies and Khasadar forces.
On the tourism and economic potential of South Waziristan, the meeting was informed that the district has sufficient potential of tourist sites while there are several mines and mineral deposits along with progressive farming, water resources, livestock and trade with Afghanistan. The chief minister called for a special focus on developing the tourism and mines sectors. He directed the tourism secretary and other relevant officials to visit potential sites in the district and devise proposals as soon as possible, including the construction of access roads to these tourist sites. Mahmood further sought feasibility for the development of an Agriculture Park in Wana.
Published in The Express Tribune, Septe0mber 28th, 2020.
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