ISLAMABAD:Acting Chairman Senate Mirza Muhammad Afridi has underscored the need for conducting a transparent census in the merged tribal districts, which was crucial to strengthen the administrative structure at the local level.
A transparent census would help to chalk out futuristic planning and advance the process of development in the merged areas, Afridi said during a meeting with a delegation of tribal elders and leaders led by former senator Aurangzeb Khan Orakzai and senior parliamentarian GG Jamal at the Parliament House.
Acting Chairman Senate Mirza Muhammad Afridi while welcoming the delegation said that tribal traditions and culture were very close to his heart as he also belonged to the tribal area.
“FATA has been merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, there is still a long way to go to carry forward the reform process and it is necessary to strengthen the administrative structure at the local level,” Afridi said.
He emphasized that calculated steps should be taken to ensure sustainable development in the tribal areas and assured the delegation of all possible cooperation to solve the problems of erstwhile FATA.
Acting Chairman Senate said that the Upper House of the Parliament was an important forum to raise voice for the underdeveloped classes and to solve problems in coordination with the provincial governments.
Afridi underlined that the tribal people had made sacrifices for Pakistan and the entire nation paid homage to the sacrifices of the tribal people.
Earlier, a delegation of Tribal elders apprised the Acting Chairman Senate about the problems in their areas.
Senator Aurangzeb Khan said that the people of tribal areas had sacrificed for the sake of the country in every era.