PESHAWAR, Sept 26: NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has expressed the hope that Ahmadzai tribes of Wana will honour their agreements and fulfil their collective responsibilities besides assuring the tribes that law enforcement agencies would not need to continue their action if tribes followed agreements.

He was addressing a tribal jirga, comprising tribal elders from all tribal agencies at the Governor's House here on Saturday. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was present on the occasion.

The governor said: "The government has no dispute with tribes and all it wants is that they must fulfill their responsibilities about not allowing shelter to foreign elements."

"We do not want the tribesmen to suffer any more because of the presence of foreign elements. In fact, the situation is rapidly normalising as a result of the cooperation of the tribal people and efforts of the government."

Ahmadzais, he said, had started realizing their responsibilities while the trouble in the areas of the Mahsud tribe has also been controlled. In South Waziristan, the governor said, the majority of tribesmen were supporting the government's actions, adding that it was evident from their agreements under which they have promised to fulfil their collective responsibilities of protecting the area.

Highlighting the government's efforts for the area's development, the governor said that during the past year, a new era of prosperity had ushered in tribal areas. Even in areas, which never witnessed a single development initiative in the past, tremendous development activities were in progress, he added.

Development activities, he said, were being launched in sectors, including education, health, communications and irrigation, adding that facilities were being provided to cater for the needs of the respective community.

In Fata, he said, emphasis was being laid on expanding educational facilities, adding that it was the government's topmost priority. Highlighting achievements in education sector, he said the government had already increased the number of degree colleges from 10 to 34 during the last two years and would achieve the target of establishing 50 degree colleges during the next couple of years.

He regretted the low literacy rate among women in Fata and said that the government was making special efforts to increase it. The government, the governor said, was concentrating on expanding irrigation facilities to develop the agriculture sector, adding that the construction of six small dams had already begun while the documentation process in connection with nine more similar projects was in progress.

The governor said that industrial estates were being set up in Fata for the first time in the region's history, adding that sports stadiums were also being built there.

Hostels for working women were also being constructed in Fata, he said, adding that colleges of management sciences were being set up in different areas to promote purposeful and job- oriented education.

He said that these projects would bring about a revolutionary change in the socio-economic life of the tribal people. The governor expressed the hope that the presence of Prime Minister Aziz would be helpful in bringing a revolutionary change in the uplift of Fata.

The governor welcomed the prime minister's Peshawar visit and his address to the tribal elders and said that such jirgas would help in strengthening the relationship between the government and the tribal people.

The governor paid tribute to the tribesmen's sacrifices for Pakistan's cause and said that the entire nation was proud of them, adding that their contribution was central to protecting the country's western borders.

Commenting on the situation in Afghanistan, the governor said that tribal areas had remained under the tremendous pressure because of the presence of Afghan refugees and certain other factors. However, the tribes had always confronted all such hardships with courage and upheld the country's prestige.

A tribal elder, Nawabzada Inayat Khan Afridi, paid rich tribute to Prime Minister Aziz for making sincere efforts for the country's well-being. He assured the government of tribes' "fullest cooperation" and said: "We fully support the government's policies."

Tribal elders from different tribal agencies presented traditional gifts to the prime minister on this occasion. NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, federal ministers Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Amanullah Khan Jadoon, Malik Ajmal Khan and Ghazi Gulab Jamal, ministers of state, Miss Aneesazeb Tahir Kheli, Ameer Muqam and Omer Ayub Khan and Parliamentary Secretary Shahjehan Yousaf were also present on this occasion.