PESHAWAR, Nov 11: The NWFP governor, who oversees affairs in the seven agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in addition to the settled parts of the province, is considered the most powerful of the four provincial governors in the country. But now he seems to have lost his grip over day-to-day affairs.

In a move to consolidate his authority, Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai recently directed the Civil Secretariat of Fata and the Fata Development Authority to send him copies of outgoing letters on a daily basis.

A letter issued from the Governor’s House on Nov 1 directed the additional chief secretary of Fata, civil secretariat and other authorities that the correspondence file — that is, copies of outgoing letters from the secretariat and the FDA, be put before him on a daily basis.

Senior officials said that for the first time the Governor’s House had issued such a directive, which had perturbed employees of the secretariat. The move, sources said, was aimed at firming his grip over affairs of the civil secretariat of Fata and the FDA.

The sources said that last week Governor Aurakzai had directed senior officials of the Civil Secretariat to reach Islamabad at 11am for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Fata House. However, no senior official of the civil secretariat, including the governor’s secretaries, reached the venue which annoyed Mr Aurakzai. The ceremony was delayed till 3pm, but despite that senior officials were absent.