No local voice in committee set up for merged districts’ development

PESHAWAR: The recently established eleven-member steering committee for the development of the merged tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lacks representation from those very districts.

A notification issued by the Prime Minister’s Secretariat announced the formation of the committee under the Prime Minister’s Programme for Integrated Tribal Districts.

According to the notification, the steering committee will be led by Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs, Rana Sanaullah Khan.

Other members include Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister and Law Advocate Aftab Alam, Former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbasi, MNA Sardar Yusuf, former MPA Akhtar Wali Khan, Federal Secretary for Kashmir Affairs, the chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the additional chief secretary of Planning & Development Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and secretary of IPC.

Also read: KP to launch school enrollment drive in merged districts

Notably, the committee does not include any senators, MNAs, or MPAs from the merged districts, nor any significant political figures from these areas. This omission raises concerns about the committee’s effectiveness and representativeness. The provincial members in the committee hail from various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: the chief minister is from DI Khan, the provincial finance minister from Kohat, the former deputy speaker of the National Assembly from Abbottabad, the MNA from Mansehra, and the former MPA from Nowshera district.

The notification stated that the steering committee will review the federal budget and Public Sector Development Programme for 2024-25, formulate proposals, and ensure the implementation of the prime minister’s programme for the development of the merged tribal districts.

The committee held its first meeting on Tuesday evening via video link. Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Provincial Finance Advisor Muzamil Aslam, Provincial Minister for Finance and Law Aftab Alam, and other members represented the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. The meeting focused on reviewing the federal budget and PSDP and initiating consultations with all stakeholders for the development of the integrated tribal districts.