Changing tides: K-P welcomes new governor

Sardar Mehtab Abbasi takes oath at Governor House.

PESHAWAR:

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Sardar Mehtab Khan Abbasi took oath as the new governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Tuesday in a ceremony attended by several leaders and activists of PML-N as well as top officials of the K-P government.

Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel administered the oath to Abbasi at Governor House. The personalities in attendance included Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami chief Maulana Samiul Haq, senior K-P ministers, senior army officials, MPAs, MNAs as well as a large number of PML-N activists.

Before the administering of the oath, the governor was welcomed with a standing ovation by activists who had flooded to the venue to support their leader.

Strict security provisions were in place at Governor House for the event.

While addressing the media following the ceremony, Abbasi resolved to work for the betterment of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

“The social fabric of Fata has shattered due to the long spell of conflict in the region and that situation needs to be remedied,” said Abbasi.

“Peace is the voice of every resident of Fata,” he maintained.

He added the war in Afghanistan had negative effects in the tribal areas and the rest of the country and the need of the hour is to bring lasting peace.

“For Pakistan, the tribal areas are the only link to Central Asia via Afghanistan and the route is essential for re-establishing trade with these countries,” said Abbasi.

The newly-appointed governor pledged to prioritise the improvement of socio-economic indicators of Fata as well as to increase trade activities in the conflict-ridden region.

The governor shared that one of his priorities would be the reconstruction of infrastructure destroyed by militancy in Fata and to expedite the process of rehabilitation of internally displaced persons.

On the subject of peace talks between Pakistan government and the Taliban, Abbasi said it was a complicated process and at the moment could not be discussed publicly.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2014.