April 11, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 4, 1429

PESHAWAR, April 10: NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti has said that a broad-based jirga will be convened to rid the province of the growing lawlessness and violence and added that it was the traditional way of Pakhtuns to settle their issues.

He was making his much-awaited speech after seeking the vote-of-confidence from the House here on Thursday. A total of 111 out of 116 lawmakers, present on the occasion, reposed their confidence in the leadership of Mr Hoti, who promised to bring concrete changes to make his administration people-friendly and accessible for common man.

He said besides a cabinet committee headed by two senior ministers, a traditional jirga, comprising politicians, lawmakers, ulema and tribal notables would be convened for the early riddance of anarchy-like situation in some parts of the province.

He thanked his fellow lawmakers and said it was not a confidence in his lone person rather it was a confidence in the supremacy of the House, political and democratic forces and people of province “who have elected all of us and sent us in this august house.”

Giving immediate relief to prisoners, Mr Hoti announced two-month remission in their term. He said his government would set up small industrial units inside the central prisons for imparting training of different trades to the prisoners.

Reiterating his pledge about the rule of law, he said: “It’s not a land of suicide-bombers and terrorists; instead it’s a land of Gandhara civilisation and the Islamic Renaissance of central Asia. It’s a land of Pir Rokhan, Khushhal Khan Khattak, Rehman Baba and Bacha Khan.” He said it was an outcome of the sacrifices made by late Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, Maulana Fazalur Rehman and thousands of political workers for the return of a civilian rule to the country.

From Waziristan to Swat, he said, the entire belt was reeling under the violence, which had become a challenge for the peace-living forces to steer it out from the lawlessness. This ongoing violence and blood-letting, Mr Hoti said, had only made an increase into the number of corpses, wounded and burnt and razed-houses. The use of force, he said, should be a last resort otherwise things would get more complicated. He said the police force, which was under-staffed, would be equipped with required weapons and training.

He said his government would revise their salary-chart and insure their lives by paying premium from the provincial kitty. He said he would give a package to the police. “At present, 34 platoons of our Frontier Constabulary are stationed outside the NWFP,” he said, adding 7,500 strong Elite Force would be raised to get rid of lawlessness. He said: “The federal government has assured us that it will soon relieve all these platoons.”

He said he would re-negotiate the royalty amount paid to the province on oil and being extracted from different parts of NWFP.

The natural gas companies, he suggested, should have no business with the distribution of natural gas being excavated from NWFP, instead the federal government should form Gurguri North West on pattern of Sui Northern Gas, with its headquarter in the province.

The chief minister said that like wheat the tobacco was a provincial subject, but its cess was being collected by the centre, which was not fair. He said that the federal government had imposed a cut of 45 per cent on the development budget of the province. “I will request the centre to release Rs10 billion so that we could complete our on going development schemes,” he said.

On industrial front, he said he would propose to the federal government to help them in setting up a Rehabilitation and Opportunity Zone (ROZ) in tribal areas. He said a marble city, having 134 units, would be set up in Risalpur. He said after law and order it would be his priority to get allocated maximum amount for education sector as “it is a matter of future of our children.” About health sector, he said a modern burns centre would be set up in Peshawar. “At present, we have only seven A-Class hospital, but we would like to upgrade all the district headquarters hospital to the A-Class level,” he added.

He said that streamlining of traffic, provision of drinking water and running an effective sanitation system were the prime responsibilities of city district governments, but they were not doing well. He said that provincial government would help them in those areas. He said the flour issue had become the worst one since the scarcity of the flour in urban areas. “I have talked to Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif and they have kindly promised to solve it, but we have to check the smuggling of flour outside the province,” he added.

He said agriculture was a backbone of provincial economy, which deserved to be placed on priority list. The sugarcane growers and tobacco growers were faced with manifolds problems, particularly the tobacco crop was on the mercy of multinational companies. He said it needed a long term planning to strengthen the agriculture sector.

He stressed the need for providing pure-drinking water to the people, constructing mass-transit, controlling growing pollution, encouraging afforestation. He said Nishat Hall in the heart of the capital had been opened to promote traditional culture. He denied that any kind of immodesty and vulgarity was culture. Mr Hoti praised the role of electronic and print media in the fight for democracy and rights of people.