PESHAWAR – The visiting four-member delegation of International Development Committee of the UK Parliament, comprising of Richard Burden, Chris White, Hugh Bayley and Pauline Latham, called on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor, Barrister Masood Kausar, at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, Islamabad on Saturday afternoon.
The distinguished guests remained with the governor for some time and discussed matters of mutual interest.
with special reference to the role and contribution of DFID to socio-economic development of the people of the province as well as Fata and prospects for its future services in this respect. The situation in Fata particularly in the wake of the ongoing efforts of the government to further strengthen the governance system and implementation on Political Parties Act in the area also came under discussion and the governor informed the respected parliamentarians that under a well-thought consensus-based process we are heading forward to actively involve the people of Fata in the national affairs.
Talking on a point, the governor said though the people of Fata have been enjoying representation in the Senate and the National Assembly since long yet for the first time in the history of Fata, they will get the choice to elect their representatives for both the upper houses from the platform of political parties which indeed will be one of the major achievements of the present government. The political reforms in Fata, he added, are in fact a comprehensive process which is interlinked to institutional development both from administrative and judicial points of view with the basic aim to protect the basic rights of the respective people, and the civic society especially the political particles are being taken along through consensus based consultation process.
Referring to another point, the governor also highlighted the various aspects of militancy-oriented problems in Fata and pointed out that there is also the need to judge the factors in true perspectives especially in light of the situation developed over the last more than through decades in the entire region. However, he added, the government has restored peace in the province and Fata and normalcy is taking place successfully but at the cost of tremendous sacrifices offered both by the security forces and the common people.