Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), General Abdul Qadir Baloch (Retd) has said that Local Government elections will be conducted in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) during 2017. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, the minister said the government is committed to giving the right to elect their own representatives to the people of FATA.
He said the FATA people have been deprived of their rights for over last 70 years. The minister further said that the final recommendations regarding merger of FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province are under process, adding that after approval of the recommendation from all the stakeholders, it will be implemented in letter and spirit.
The minister said under this plan, infrastructure has to be developed along with the rehabilitation next year and in 2018. Baloch said that the work is in progress to replace Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) with Riwaj Act to ensure the basic rights of the people. He said there is a suggestion to give 3 percent to FATA out of the divisible revenues. Every agency will be given additional 3 to 4 billion rupees, he added.
Baloch said it has been decided to ensure return of all temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) by the end of this month. He said the government discussed this plan in both houses of the Parliament and have incorporated the suggestions given by the members of the Parliament.
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