Khalid Aziz, former chief secretary of NWFP in his paper on 'Impact of Afghan Presidential Elections on Tribal Area' maintained that the election was a part of remaking Afghanistan as was agreed upon in Bonn Agreement in 2001 and Pakistan's full support to the election process was a positive aspect towards solving the crisis in Afghanistan. The fourth session was chaired by the former vice chancellor and ex-director of Area Study Center, Peshawar University, Dr Mohammad Anwar Khan. Dr Nasser Ali Khan, Director, Institute of Management Sciences, Hayatabad also read out his paper on Economy of Tribal Areas.
Former chief secretary in his lecture concentrated briefly on Pakistan-Afghan relations, the national security aspect of United States of America and the theory of a failed state to gauge the impact of Presidential elections on Pakistani tribal areas.
He stated that according to available statistics some 80 percent voters had exercised their right of franchise during the election and the Pashtuns were the significant element in this process. He stated that even Pakistan more than 80 percent Pashtuns voters voted for Hamid Karzai who is a Pashtuns.
The learned speaker was of the view that Afghanistan was a state that fell within the definition of a failed state and the efforts following the Bonn Agreement of 2001 went into the direction of remaking Afghanistan.
As long as funding was continue from abroad to run the state, the matters would remain in control of Karzai administration but once this channel was dried out, there were chances of reversing Afghanistan to a failed state pattern once again, he remarked.
Khalid Aziz was of the firm opinion that the Afghan elections would help Pashtuns united and break the cycle of violence in Waziristan and eastern Pashtuns provinces of Afghanistan besides making Afghanistan a viable state.
The Director of Institute of Management Sciences (IMS), Dr Nasser Ali Khan painted a very bleak picture of socio-economic development in Fata since the creation of Pakistan. He brushed aside the impression with authentic statistics available from the official quarters that the tribal were better off than the people in settled areas of NWFP or the rest of the country.
Presenting an overview of agriculture, industry and education in Fata, he informed that Fata spreading over an area of 27,000 square kilometers with 2.3 million tribal populations had only 0.20 (zero point two zero) percent cultivable land.
The total production of Fata was 100,000 tons wheat, 43, 000 tons vegetables and 60,000 tons of fruit per year. On the industry side, he said, hardly 26,000 people were in the employment of government or semi autonomous corporations whereas hardly 21 percent tribal population was hardly educated including less than 3 percent females.
Dr Nasser Ali Khan suggested that the government should chalk out a separate economic policy for Fata, established industrial zone there and ease the Afghan trade so as to develop Fata economically.
The fifth and sixth sessions of the seminar will be held Wednesday, December 8 at the auditorium of Area Study Center, Peshawar University.
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