PESHAWAR: KP Caretaker Minister for Excise and Narcotics Control Haji Manzoor Khan Afridi has paid rich tributes to the tribal people for their matchless sacrifices for the development and integrity of Pakistan and assured that their days of poverty and backwardness are near to end.
He said that the attitude of neglect and excesses done to the tribesmen in the past is being rectified and redressed, while the enormous losses during the army clean up operations will also be compensated, gradually.
He was addressing an Eid Milan gathering of tribal elders at village Alam Godar, tehsil Bara.
Former Senator Haji Muhammad Shah Afridi and other tribal leaders also spoke and appreciated the caretaker government’s initiatives for the development of the merged districts including Khyber and assured of their full support in the implementation of the government’s policies.
Haji Manzoor Afridi said that all the houses and other buildings demolished during the clean-up operation will be reconstructed for which comprehensive plan has been chalked out.
He agreed with the notion that like other parts of the province, the people of Khyber and other merged districts are also facing the evil of drugs addiction, which has become a challenge for the survival of our young generation.
He said that his department will not only ensure strict prevention of drugs but will also cherish the great task of treatment and rehabilitation of patients suffering from drug addiction.
He said that the provincial government is well aware of the fact that no crop except poppy can grow in the merged districts. Therefore, he said, we are trying our level best to use the poppy for life-saving medicines on the style of India and Western countries. He said for this purpose, the KP government is planning to introduce the related medicine industry and modern technology in the province.
He also assured to establish a drug rehabilitation hospital in view of the growing complaints of the soaring number of drug addicts.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023