Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has termed the first-ever election on provincial assembly constituencies of the tribal districts of erstwhile FATA as historic milestone declaring it the day of happiness and greetings not for only the tribesmen but for the whole country.
Talking to the media, the CM said mainstreaming of tribal areas was the vision of both PTI and Prime Minister Imran Khan and the holding of peaceful elections in the region is part of the series that would be written in golden words.
He said the tribal districts were earlier having representation in both houses of the Parliament - National Assembly and the Senate. However, now their representatives would also be part and parcel of the provincial assembly, who would raise the issues of tribesmen in better manner.
The chief minister said the election in tribal areas is a big achievement of PTI that would prove a milestone in development of tribal districts and backwardness would become part of the history. He said the enthusiasm shown by the tribesmen is welcoming.
Regarding development strategy for merged districts, the chief minister said for the first time in the history of province a big amount of Rs 162 billion has been allocated under Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the tribal districts and in this connection expressed gratitude to both Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan Army.
Besides, he said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is first province that gave an amount of Rs 11 billion from its share in NFC Award for the tribal areas and also asked other provinces to put their share in it.