KHYBER: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan along with Corps Commander of Peshawar Lieutenant General Noman Mehmud on Friday performed the ground breaking of 35 kilometers long road in Tirah valley and inaugurated the newly-built Tirah Educational Complex.

Provincial minister Anwar Zeb, special assistant to the chief minister Kamran Bangash and elected representatives from tribal districts were also present on the occasion.

Addressing a jirga of tribal elders in Painda Chena area of Tirah valley, the chief minister said the accelerated development of tribal districts was the top priority of his government, which was utilising all available resources for the purpose. “Tribal people had suffered a lot in the war against terrorism. The government is aware of their misery and difficulties and therefore, it is taking solid measures to address their problems,” he said.

Mr Mahmood said the time-tested institution of jirga would remain intact and his government would continue to support and partonise it at the sub-divisional level in tribal districts for the speedy resolution of problems of the residents.

He said work on various roads in Khyber tribal district was under way and its completion would usher a new era of prosperity in the region.

Educational complex also inaugurated

“Tribal people will have the first right to their mineral resources and the provincial government has already legislated to this effect under which leases for mineral resources of the tribal areas will be given to local people,” he said.

The chief minister said work on Jabba dam had begun, while feasibility study for the construction of Bara dam would be carried out soon.

He said all those projects would address the issues of water and electricity and would increase agricultural productivity in the region.

Mr Mahmood said the government had approved the Rs18 billion Khyber Pass Economic Corridor project, while the establishment of Special Economic Zone in Khyber tribal district was in progress.

He said the mega development initiatives, including Khyber Pass Economic Corridor, Peshawar-DI Khan Expressway, Swat Motorway and Chitral Motorway, would turn the province into a hub of trade activities.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2020