The National Assembly Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) has rejected the recruitment in Tribal Electric Supply Company (TESCO) of domicile holders other than Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The parliamentary panel met with Muhammad Jamal-ud-Din in the chair here on Tuesday to discuss in detail the issue of recruitment in TESCO of domicile holders other than the FATA.
State Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), Ghalib Khan said that they would go to any extent if local tribal people are not given priority in recruitment, adding that any such policy where locals were ignored would strongly be protested. The committee strongly recommended to the Ministry of Power to relax/change the policy of recruitment for the FATA candidates and recruit FATA locals in TESCO as they will perform duties in better way than others.
The officials of TESCO informed the committee that recruitment was made on merit as per the government of Pakistan policy. However, the committee recommended giving preference to local tribal in any recruitment. The committee further directed the director general FDMA to appoint local people in development projects in the FATA. The committee also discussed the mines issue, as around 50 locals in South Waziristan Agency had been martyred due to mines in the area.
The committee urged the federal government/Ministry of SAFRON to look into the matter of public with urgent importance and take appropriate action to search and defuse the mines and save the lives of the FATA people. The committee members also recommended establishing a special fund to help the mines affectees. The committee member further expressed annoyance over the suspension of NGOs activities in FATA. The meeting was also attended by MNAs Muhammad Nazir Khan, Surraiya Jatoi, Qaiser Jamal, Ayesha Gulalai, Nasir Khan and Muhammad Kamal Malik and Minister for States and Frontier Regions and officers/officials of the Ministry.