PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has directed the deputy commissioners of three merged tribal districts to shift their main offices from settled districts inside their respective tribal districts.

The home and tribal affairs department through a notification asked the deputy commissioners of Khyber, Orakzai and South Waziristan to move their offices and other departments to the tribal districts. The notification said that the district police officers had already been operationalised in all merged tribal districts.

“There is a sense of deprivation among the people especially in Khyber, Orakzai and South Waziristan that the offices of the deputy commissioners are far away and they are facing difficulties to travel to down districts,” said the official communiqué.

The offices of deputy commissioner, Khyber, and attached departments have been functioning in Peshawar cantonment since the British times. Similarly, the offices of the deputy commissioners of Orakzai and South Waziristan districts are functioning in Baber Mela in Hangu district and Tank district, respectively. People of these areas are travelling to settled districts from tribal areas for ordinary works.

According to the notification, deputy commissioner, Khyber, will shift his office to Jamrud subdivision. Orakzai DC will move his office to Kalaya in Lower Orakzai and South Waziristan DC will shift to Wana.

Seven tribal agencies and six Frontier Regions of former Fata were merged with the province in the wake of 25th amendment in May 2018 and were declared districts.

The people of the merged districts will have representation in the provincial assembly after elections on July 20.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2019