KHYBER: Area Representative and Development Council (ARDC) member from Khyber tribal district Sherin Khan Afridi on Wednesday proposed turning the recently-established nominated council into an elected and independent body for the 12 designated districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Mr Afridi told reporters in Bara that an independent and elected council would help make development more effective, resolve basic issues more quickly and improve local administration.
He said that he had floated the proposal and would seek the support of other ARDC members after convincing them about its merits.
The member said by converting the ARDC into an elected council, tribesmen would elect their own representatives to the Fata Council, with district and tehsil councils functioning as its subordinate elected bodies.
He said that an elected council would remain closer to ordinary people and be better placed to highlight the problems of the tribal districts, ultimately benefiting local residents.
Mr Afridi said that the ARDC was neither a substitute for the erstwhile Fata nor an attempt to create a separate province comprising the merged tribal districts.
“The tribal districts are here to stay as we have the courts, police stations, district administrations and tehsil municipal administrations fully functional, with every tehsil having a separate administrative system in place,” he said.
The member said he was confident that the ARDC would help create a conducive environment for regional development, restore peace, resolve public grievances and bring the deprived regions into the national mainstream.
Mr Afridi previously served as the senior vice-president of the Awami National Party in Khyber chapter but resigned from the post lately citing personal reasons. He is an active member of the Bara Siyasi Ittehad.
Meanwhile, ANP Khyber district president Abdur Raziq Afridi terminated Sherin Afridi’s basic party membership on the directives of provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain after his appointment to the ARDC.
In a statement, the party said a show-cause notice was issued to Sherin Afridi but he failed to provide a clear reply within the stipulated time.
“We will not accept any ambiguity over violation of rules and administrative discipline, which led to his membership cancellation,” it said.
Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2026
