Govt approves Rs24 billion uplift funds for tribal districts.

Byline: Ibrahim Shinwari

LANDI KOTAL -- The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet here on Thursday approved Rs24 billion annual development funds for tribal districts and decided to take immediate steps to start utilisation of the approved amount.

The cabinet meeting was held in Landi Kotal subdivision of Khyber tribal district for the first time after the merger of Fata with the province. Chief Minister Mahmood Khan chaired the meeting, which was attended by several ministers, secretaries of various departments and deputy commissioners of all the seven tribal districts.

Elaborate arrangements were made for the cabinet meeting held at the local jirga hall amid tight security and heavily overcast conditions.

Cabinet holds maiden meeting in Khyber after merger; minister says 2,000 tribal youth to get skill development training

The chief minister and other participants of the meeting came to Landi Kotal by road and took the same route for their return journey to Peshawar late in the afternoon. Inspector General of Police Salahuddin Mehsud could not attend the important meeting owing to his prior engagements in Islamabad.

Briefing media about the decisions made by the cabinet and discussions held during nearly two hours meeting, Information Minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai said that owing to the historic significance of the cabinet meeting, most of the discussions were made about the erstwhile Fata and certain important decisions were also made.

He said that the cabinet resolved to expedite the process of development in tribal districts along with focusing on provision of basic facilities to the local residents.

'It was decided to overcome shortage of teachers in educational institutions and doctors in different hospitals alongside rebuilding of all the damaged schools and health facilities in 'Fata' with extreme urgency,' he said.

Repeatedly referring to the tribal region with its former name of 'Fata', the information minister said that deputy commissioners of all the seven tribal districts were advised to identify suitable sites for construction of sports stadiums alongside provision of basic municipal facilities in all the 26 tehsils of erstwhile Fata.

He said that provincial government would provide skill development training to at least 2,000 talented tribal youth while nearly 300 local mosques would be solarised in the initial plan of solarising almost all the mosques in the seven tribal districts.

Mr Yousafzai said that the cabinet approved annual...