PESHAWAR: Adviser to Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif has emphasised urgent need to transfer funds allocated for merged districts to provincial government in light of the current situation.

He said that law and order in merged districts was a serious concern, yet federal government unlawfully withheld the funds allocated for those areas, according to a statement issued here on Monday.

Barrister Saif asserted that following merger of tribal areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, funds for those areas constitutionally and legally belonged to the province. “Withholding these funds is a violation of both the Constitution and law,” he said. He urged federal government to rise above political bias and cooperate with the province on critical issues like security, rather than politicising them.

He said that provincial government was making efforts to maintain law and order in merged districts within its available resources. “To this end, billions of rupees have been allocated to enhance capabilities of police and Counter Terrorism Department,” he added.

He said that federal government must fulfil its constitutional obligations and stop treating the province unfairly.

Barrister Saif said that the purpose of the merger was to bring tribal districts at par with the rest of the province and accelerate development in those areas. “Unfortunately, federal government has retained the funds and failed to transfer them to the province, thereby hampering the development process,” he added.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2025