THE Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Provincially Administrated Tribal Areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — FATA and PATA — are acronyms familiar to most Pakistanis as they are usually under the media’s spotlight.

Sadly few people know about the Provincially Administrated Tribal Areas of Punjab located in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts in the Koh-i-Suleman mountain ranges.

PATA Punjab is sandwiched between the smallest and the biggest province by population. It is rich in minerals like uranium, gypsum, marble, etc besides proven oil and gas reserves in Dhodak and Baghalchurr area but there is no economic activity worth its name.

The Punjab PATA comprises approximately 10,000 square kms with a population of 189,400 souls most of whom are of Baloch origin. (Source: Statistical Survey of 2013). Unfortunately, the area is severely lacking in health and education facilities and an efficient transportation system.

I ask the government to provide basic amenities to Punjab’s tribal areas.

Rashid Taj Buzdar

Drea Ghazi Khan

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2017