MANSEHRA, May 25: After almost four months of wrangling among tribes over the selection of headquarters of Torghar district, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has declared Judbah as the headquarters of the new district.

The announcement to this effect was made by Torghar District Coordination Officer Fareed Khan in a jirga of elders of five main tribes and officials of district administration here in Oghi on Wednesday. “On behalf of the chief minister, I declare Judbah as the headquarters of this new district,” said the DCO.

President Asif Ali Zardari had changed the tribal status of Kala Dhaka to Torghar through a notification as the 25th settled district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Afterwards, a serious rift had emerged among the tribes as each one wanted the place of their choice to be selected for the district headquarters.

However, after their failure to reach a consensus the elders of all the tribes in a jirga last month had empowered the chief minister to decide a suitable place for the district headquarters. Speaking at a jirga on Wednesday, DCO Fareed Khan said that the chief minister had decided to make Judbah as the district headquarters, Kunder Hassanzai the sub-division and Mandakhel Hassanzai the sub-tehsil of Torghar district.

He said that the decision was taken in the larger interest of people of the area as Judbah was the most suitable place where government buildings could be built. He said that people of Torghar would soon enjoy facilities and services like other settled districts.

“Your district will soon be a modern district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province as the provincial government is committed to taking serious measures to upgrade the living standard of the people,” the DCO told the elders at the jirga.