Caretaker Prime Minister former Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk has constituted a committee to formulate a strategy for removing bottlenecks and making the merger process of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa smoothly. A meeting was chaired by the caretaker prime minister to review progress on implementation of Fata Reforms on Monday. He constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Barrister Syed Ali Zafar and comprising Chief Secretary KP Muhammad Azam Khan, advocate general KP, home secretary KP, ACS Fata, and representatives of the Finance, Revenue and Planning Divisions to make the process seamless.

Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muhammad Azam Khan made a detailed presentation on progress made so far and pointed out various administrative, legal and financial issues that need immediate attention to ensure smooth transition of the merger process after the passage of the 25th Constitutional Amendment. Briefing the meeting about the actions taken so far, the chief secretary said that the agencies and frontier regions (FRs) have been re-designated as districts and sub-divisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the posts of political agents and assistant political agents have been re-designated as deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners.

The meeting was informed that with the abolition of Agency Development Fund, collection of all taxes/ levy and rahdaris has been stopped. The draft plans for extension of judiciary, policing, prosecution and prisons service in the tribal districts have also been prepared.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) briefed the meeting about the tax exemptions and other financial incentives that have been provided to the people of erstwhile Fata and Pata for the next five years. The secretary finance also briefed the meeting about the financial allocations for the development of the region and for ensuring smooth implementation of the merger process.

The caretaker prime minister observed that the merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a landmark development, promising positive impact on addressing the development lag and bringing a marked improvement in the lives of the people.

He stressed upon the need for addressing the important administrative, legal and financial issues in this regard. Nasir-ul-Mulk emphasized that the process of transition should be completed swiftly and it must provide a sense of security to the people of the erstwhile tribal areas. Those who attended the meeting included Minister for Law Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, secretary to the prime minister, secretaries of SAFRON, Finance and Planning Divisions, chief secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ACS Fata and other senior officials.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2018