PESHAWAR, May 25: the NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has said that the government has already initiated a process to amend certain clauses of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) which are being widely criticized and opposed by the tribesmen.

He was talking to a delegation from the Bajaur Agency headed by Maulana Mohammad Sadiq, MNA, here on Tuesday. The political agent of Bajaur was also present on this occasion.

The governor said that before going for the change, the law-enforcement agencies would be reorganized to provide an effective force for the implementation of the process.

He said the development funds for Fata were being allocated under a formula based on the size of population and area of the agencies. He said that maximum funds would be allocated to the tribal agencies in the coming annual development programme for Fata and complete the ongoing projects on priority basis.

However, he emphasized that the population growth must be contained because it exerted extra burden on the services delivery system. Referring to the provision of the development resources for the Fata, the governor said the development funds had been increased four times during the past couple of years.

Moreover, he said, friendly countries and donor organizations were also providing necessary resources for the development of tribal areas. He hoped that efficient and timely utilization of the resources would bring a change in the socio- economic conditions of the Fata people.

He pledged that electricity would be provided to all tribal agencies if the tribesmen agreed to install power meters and paid utility charges. However, he made it clear that no new connection would be given without the installation of electricity meter.