PESHAWAR, Jan 23: Tribal elders belonging to lower Kanigaram in South Waziristan have thanked NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah for increasing the development budget of Fata to Rs9 billion which was less than one billion rupees till a few years back.

Speaking at a jirga held at lower Kanigaram on Sunday, tribal elders, including Malik Mohammad Qareeb Barki, Malik Haji Khawasa Khan, Malik Shah Jehan Barki and Malik Taj Mohammad, said increase in the development budget would put an end to the backwardness of Fata.

The governor, they said, wanted to bring the backward tribal areas on a par with settled parts of the country and this raise in the development allocations was a step towards this end.

They deplored that previous regimes did not take any interest in the development of tribal areas and as a result of which today Fata was the most under-developed part of the country.

The tribal people had great regard and respect for the present governor of the province, they added. The tribal elders through a unanimous resolution urged the governor to sanction a drinking water tubewell for the dwellers of village Chalghuzi Mehmud Koroona in lower Kanigaram of tehsil Ladha in South Waziristan Agency. -APP