Barrister Dr. Saif warns constitutional violation as critical tribal area development hangs in balance
PESHAWAR: Adviser to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Information and Public Relations, Barrister Dr. Saif, has emphasized the urgent need to transfer the funds of the merged districts to the provincial government, in light of the current situation. He stated that law and order in the merged districts is a serious concern, yet the federal government has unlawfully withheld the funds allocated for these areas.Barrister Dr. Saif asserted that following the merger, the funds for the merged districts constitutionally and legally belong to the province. Withholding these funds is a violation of both the Constitution and the law. He urged the federal government to rise above political bias and cooperate with the province on critical issues like security, rather than politicizing them.
He added that the provincial government is making effective efforts to maintain peace and order in the merged districts within its available resources. To this end, billions of rupees have been allocated to enhance the capabilities of the police and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD). However, he stressed that the federal government must stop treating the province unfairly and fulfill its constitutional obligations.Barrister Dr. Saif highlighted that the purpose of the merger was to bring the merged districts at par with the rest of the province and to accelerate development in these areas. Unfortunately, the federal government has retained the funds and failed to transfer them to the province, thereby hampering the development process.
He concluded by reaffirming the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s commitment to uplift the merged districts and ensure they are treated equally with other districts, while calling on the federal government to stop creating hurdles in this process.