PESHAWAR:The Caretaker Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Azam Khan Monday said people of newly merged districts of FATA (Federal Administered Tribal Area) should bring at par with other districts to early redress their grievances.
He expressed views while addressing the certificates distribution ceremony of skills development training for the youth of North Waziristan Tribal District here.
Three-month skills development training program for the youth of North Waziristan was arranged by Mari Petroleum Company in collaboration with Sarhad Rural Support Program and Sui Northern Gas under which 110 youth of North
Waziristan imparted technical training in different fields.
Addressing the ceremony, the Caretaker Chief Minister said that the former FATA has been merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the 25th constitutional amendment in 2018 but still the province is not getting the due shares of newly merged districts in the National Finance Commission Award. He added that the population of newly merged districts is more than 5 million, and they must get their due shares.
He said that ever since he assumed the charge as caretaker chief minister, he has been trying to resolve the issues of the merged districts and get their legitimate rights from the federal government adding that merged districts’ issues have been taken up with the Prime Minister while several letters have also been written to the federal government to this end.
The Chief Minister while expressing his resolve to get the due rights of the merged districts said that he will continue efforts at all levels to get the legitimate rights of the merged districts.
He remarked that the resources of the provincial government are very limited, but despite this, the caretaker government would utilize all available resources for the development of the merged districts.
He said that he had decided to listen to the issues of the people of ex-FATA, and the people from all over the tribal district can visit his office every Thursday to get their problems solved.
The chief minister felicitated the newly trained youngsters and urged them to utilize their newly acquired skills for self-employment and work for the development and prosperity of their localities.
The Chief Minister also thanked Mari Petroleum, SRSP, and concerned stakeholders for imparting training to the youth of North Waziristan.
He also urged other private companies working on the exploration of oil and gas fields in the province to take steps under their corporate social responsibility program to impart skills and provide employment opportunities to the youth of the backward areas of the province.
Appreciating the role of the Sarhad Rural Support Programme in improving the quality of life of the people in the backward areas of the province, the Chief Minister said that SRSP had been rendering valuable services in various fields with the participation of the community in less developed areas of the province for the past 34 years; adding that there has been significant improvement in the lives of the people of these areas because of the efforts of SRSP.
Chief Executive Officer of SRSP Shehzada Masood ul Mulk , Brigadier Retired Asad of Mari Petroleum Company, and tribal elders also addressed the event.
At the end of the ceremony, the Chief Minister also distributed certificates among the participants of the skills development program.