ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday said that development of erstwhile FATA was responsibility of the entire country and urged the provinces to give three percent  share in National Finance Commission (NFC) Award for uplift to tribal districts.

Speaking at the National Assembly, the Prime Minister said the people of former FATA had suffered a lot in the war against terrorism and this long war had damaged the entire infrastructure of the area.

He said it was responsibility of the entire country to come forward and bring former FATA into the mainstream.

He said the people of former FATA had reservations about their economic condition as their houses and basic infrastructure had been destroyed and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government alone could never cover that damage from its own development funds.

The separation of East Pakistan was a great tragedy but it occurred owing to sense of deprivation among the people, he said, adding "We all should learn a lesson form that. No one should feel that Pakistan does not own them.”

The Prime Minister said this kind of sense of deprivation was dangerous as it could be exploited by Pakistan’s enemies and it was being exploited. He said development should always be inclusive and the areas that were left behind should be brought at par with rest of the development parts of the country.

The Prime Minister expressed his appreciation over the consensus between all parties on recommendations for the bill.

He said the 26th Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2019 would not only increase the number of National and Provincial Assembly seats for merged areas but it would also give them more representation.