PESHAWAR, Sept 17: The NWFP government has expressed reservations over the draft rules of business for the newly established Civil Secretariat (Fata) and directed the concerned authorities concerned to seek views of the law department on certain issues, according to sources.

“The draft is merely a duplication of the provincial government rules of business 1985,” said an official note.

The provincial government has noted that in the draft, additional chief secretary has been proposed as official head of the secretariat instead of chief secretary who is the overall in-charge of bureaucracy.

The sources said that the provincial government had examined the draft and directed the authorities to take up the matter with the concerned quarters to remove flaws and ambiguities from the document.

Following President Gen Pervez Musharraf directives, the NWFP Governor’s Secretariat formulated the draft rules of business for the Civil Secretariat (Fata).

The Governor’s Secretariat, Fata, now called Civil Secretariat (Fata) has been functioning without rules of business since 2002 although auditor-general and the relevant federal ministry have reservations about its functions and legal status.

The NWFP government has pointed out that the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, according to the Article 1 of the 1973 Constitution, is not part of the province and has separate entity, therefore, rules of business require approval of the federal government.

The provincial government has opposed the establishment of the coordination and administration department in the Fata secretariat.

It has observed that according to the Presidential Order 1972, the employees of the provincial government are to be appointed on posts related with Fata affairs on deputation basis and the matters pertaining to the jobs will be controlled by the provincial government. Hence, there seems no justification for setting up the coordination and administration department in the Fata secretariat, a communication of the provincial government to the centre, a copy of which has been provided to Dawn, says .