The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) cabinet on Monday was briefed on the latest situation in the Kurram tribal district of the province.
The 24th meeting of the provincial cabinet was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur wherein various key matters were discussed. Cabinet members, Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, additional chief secretaries, senior member Board of Revenue, administrative secretaries and the advocate general attended the meeting.
The cabinet was briefed in detail about the implementation of government decisions aimed at ensuring sustainable peace in Kurram.
It was informed that since October last year, 189 people had lost their lives in various incidents of unrest in Kurram. However, due to the continuous efforts of the provincial government, a peace agreement had been signed to restore peace and normalcy in the region.
To ensure an uninterrupted supply of essential goods to the people of the restive district, nine convoys comprising 718 vehicles have so far been sent to Kurram leaving no space for the shortage of essential commodities in the area.
It was further revealed that the provincial government had launched a helicopter service to and from Kurram on the direction of the Chief Minister. So far, 153 flights have been carried out using two helicopters that provided air transport facility to approximately 4,000 people.
Besides this, 19,000 kilograms of essential medicines have been supplied to Kurram to cater to the medical needs of the patients.
It was further revealed that, in line with the Cabinet's decision and the peace agreement, the demolition of illegal bunkers in Kurram was ongoing and 151 bunkers had been dismantled to date.
The deadline for the complete removal of all bunkers and for de-weaponisation has been set for March 23.
The cabinet also accorded approval for Rs98.3 million to procure explosives for dismantling the remaining illegal bunkers.
The meeting also approved the release of 1,645 MT of PASSCO imported wheat lying in Kurram to the general public in the area.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister also directed the establishment of security posts at locations from where attacks from long distances could be effectively monitored and countered to secure the lives and properties of the people on a permanent basis.
The cabinet also reviewed plans for the restoration of the damaged infrastructure in Kurram. The briefing indicated that the rehabilitation of the destroyed Bagan Bazaar is estimated to cost Rs480 million and that work on the project would commence soon.
The cabinet also approved a one-time 5-year relaxation of age and four attempts for PMS candidates due to the fact that the competitive examination had not been conducted for the last so many years. It was also directed that, in future, such a competitive examination should be conducted on an annual basis like the CSS.
The cabinet also approved the creation of various posts for the effective utilization of the already installed tube-wells of the Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan) irrigation circle.
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