PESHAWAR
The federal government has put on hold development operations in six militancy-hit tribal agencies, as the funds are available only for peaceful areas, officials told Pakistan Today on Friday.
Officials said development work was on hold in six areas across FATA, which comprises seven agencies and six frontier regions or semi-tribal areas along the Pak-Afghan border.
“The areas development projects have been halted are the Mehsud Areas in South Waziristan, Lower Orakzai, Upper Kurram, Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency, Upper Mohmand and Mamoond and Charmang areas of Bajaur Agency,” a senior FATA official said.
The ultimate losers are the innocent people in the Tribal Areas. “We have elected representatives, but no one is consulting us when they take decisions,” the tribesmen complained.
They expressed concern over the stoppage of development activities, demanding a strict monitoring and evaluation mechanism to ensure that the funds were being spent in a fair manner. Officials said a development strategy was in place for the Tribal Areas and funds had been allocated in the Annual Development Plan, “but areas where there is a serious security issue and government installations are subject to attacks, any spending will eventually go waste”.
People residing in the FATA region should announce that they are against militancy and should stand up for their rights.
People who are no longer involved in radical activities should come forth and tell the world their story.
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