ISLAMABAD, Jan 31: The former federal minister, Lt-Gen Jamal Said Mian, welcomed President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s efforts in “showing the people of the Tribal Areas the path to progress, prosperity and dignified living”.

“They cannot live perpetually in the dark, ignorance, deprivation and primitive conditions in the 21st century,” Mr Mian said in a statement here on Wednesday.

“Not many people know that the tribal people have no traditional political voice in the affairs of the nation. They do not have the right to appeal,” he said.

The officers of the political administration in Fata only talk to the people but they do not hear them. We thank our president for announcing our representation in the provincial assembly, he said.