PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtun­khwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmed Khan has said that patriotic tribesmen and security forces have rendered great sacrifices for peace, sovereignty and integrity of the country.

Addressing a tribal jirga of Mehsud tribe of Fata in Sarokai area during his visit to South Waziristan, the governor said that time had come to take concrete measures for the wellbeing of tribal people and to redress their grievances on priority.

He said the government knew problems of tribesmen and efforts were being made to develop the entire region to link Fata people to the mainstream.

GOC Maj Gen Azhar Salaeh Abbasi, MNAs Ghalib Khan Wazir, Maulana Muhammad Jamaluddin Mehsud, Senator Muhammad Saleh Shah Qureshi, the political agent, commissioners and officials of the Fata secretariat were present on the occasion.

The governor said that Rs2 billion had been allocated for development projects in the area to rehabilitate and improve the infrastructure.

He announced Rs100 million more for rehabilitation of two link roads in the Mehsud areas and for rehabilitation of the irrigation system.

The governor said that war against terrorism and militancy in the region was being fought for sovereignty and integrity of the country and the entire nation stood united with the army and security forces in this cause. He said that austerity measures would be taken to ensure availability of best infrastructure, health centres, schools, colleges, hospitals, employment opportunities and other modern facilities in Fata.

He said that dignified return and rehabilitation of temporarily displaced people (TDPs) was the top priority of the government and steps had been taken to ensure reconstruction and development of the region.

The governor said that the process of return of TDPs of Fata to their homes would be completed by the middle of next year.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2015