PESHAWAR: Tribal Youth Movement has demanded of the government to hold local bodies’ elections in the tribal districts the earliest.

TYM, a group of educated people from the tribal districts, would present a 15-point charter of demands to government, said Shaukat Aziz, the chief of the movement.

He told journalists here on Monday that the previous government had announced merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but enforcement of the reforms process was next to nil. He said that the authorities concerned were yet to take concrete steps for bringing improvement in the health and education sectors in the tribal districts.

Mr Aziz said that most of posts in different government departments were lying vacant. He said that it was need of the hour to advertise all the vacancies and fill the posts on the basis of merit. He added that local people should be given priority in the recruitment process to overcome poverty in the tribal districts.

The TYM chief said that schools and healthcare centeres in tribal districts faced shortage of equipment and staff besides lack of proper monitoring system. He also demanded accountability of the ‘corrupt’ officials, who received huge funds for development of the tribal districts but didn’t utilise the same.

He said that government should order probe into the utilisation of funds meant for development of the former Fata to make accountable the corrupt elements.

Mr Aziz also demanded establishment of courts in tribal districts to provide easy justice to local people. He said that government should set up technical education centres in tribal districts so that the youth could improve their skills and get jobs.

He said that the number fixed for getting admission in colleges and universities under the quota system should be increased to enable the students to get quality education. He said that government should ensure utilisation of all resources including the promised funds in the tribal districts areas, affected by militancy.

Mr Aziz said that a delegation of the organisation would hold meetings with the government officials and elected representatives to inform them about the issues of the people of tribal districts.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2018