KP CM launches extension of Mines & Mineral Act

KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has formally launched the extension of Mines & Mineral Act including online application for leases in the Newly Merged Tribal Districts (NMDs) that will prove a major step towards safeguarding the rights of tribal people on the natural resources in the minerals rich tribal belt of the province.

In this regard, a formal ceremony was held at Chief Minister's House Peshawar in which provincial Minister Mohibullah Khan, Advisor to CM on merged District Ajmal Wazir, Secretary Mines & Minerals Nazar Hussain Shah and other relevant officers took part.

It is pertinent to mention here that minerals rich tribal belt, now part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, could not utilize the natural resources due to rampant militancy and absence of legal safeguards. However, the provincial government in 2019 passed the Mines & Mineral Act specifically for the Newly Merged Tribal Districts through which the local citizens will have precedence in securing leases for exploration of minerals.

Addressing the ceremony, Mahmood Khan clarified that through this initiative, negative and baseless propaganda by vested interests has suffered a setback and people of the newly merged tribal districts should now be optimistic about their future.

He stated that a new era of development and prosperity awaits the people of tribal Districts who, for long, have been set apart from the development process.

"The provincial government is committed towards the uplift of backward areas in the province. We are focused on industrialization, strengthening communication networks, attracting investors and promoting entrepreneurship through which the province is destined to become a center for trade & commerce activities in the entire region," Mahmood Khan.

Mahmood Khan stated that after the formal launching of online mining applications, the provincial government has fulfilled yet another promise made with the tribal people and the government will undertake every step to ensure that the rights of the people in the newly merged districts are safeguarded.