PESHAWAR
Newly posted Director Local Government Merged Area Saleem Jan Marwat has said that he is used to accepting tough challenges and there is more room in serving the people living in tribal areas.
Talking to APP, Saleem Jan Marwat, who had already served the province as Director Youth and organized many youth related activities wherein hundreds and thousands of youth actively participated, said, he is very keen promotor of healthy sports and youth activities across the province that is why such activities attracted thousands of youth.
Saleem Jan Marwat said” I am always accepting tough challenges and will do my best to work hard in the merged tribal areas as Director Local Government.” He said the tribal people have suffered a lot and now the government wants to develop the areas so that to bring the people of merged areas at par with other developed areas.
Mr. Marwat said there is more scope of work, and he is happy to be part of the developmental process initiated by the provincial government on war footings. He said the tribal youth have great potential in every field of life and certainly giving them due opportunities would lead to a prosperous Pakistan.
He said in tribal areas there is 46 percent youth of the total merged areas populations so setting up local government systems and giving them proper opportunities would help in developing the areas.
Saleem Jan, who himself from Marwat tribe, said the people of the merged areas badly suffered due to militancy and insurgency but after a matchless sacrifice being given by the Jawans of the security forces alongside local people including women and children, peace to these areas was restored.
The merger of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is a historic opportunity to stabilize the region and provide solace to a population weary of conflict and displacement, he said. “Yet the merger merely represents an early milestone in what will be a long and challenging transition towards stability and progress,” he further added.
The introduction of constitutional rights to 5 million people, the institution of 702 elected local governments, the initiation of land titling rights to citizens, the extension of formal rule of law institutions, and empowered legislatures, are fundamentally changing the relationship between the citizen and the state.
The merger has raised significant public expectations, he said, adding, “Over the last decade, the former FATA has seen terrorism, military operations, and forced displacements. Many people have had their homes and livelihoods destroyed.”
As such, any delay or mismanagement of the integration may create space for the formation of counter narratives against the integration process and contribute to instability, he opined.
He said, stability and development in KP, particularly in the newly merged districts along the border with Afghanistan, are critical to global and regional security. He said presence of government entities in the newly merged areas, provide basic services, and facilitate economic opportunities are key to local government initiatives.
He said above all access to quality education supports economic growth, strengthens resilience, and promotes sustainable development, however, the overall literacy rate in the newly merged districts is 28 percent and only eight percent among women. To address these challenges, the government wants to promote and improve education programs with the help of donors’ countries in order to improve the reading abilities of schoolchildren and provide scholarships to deserving young men and women to obtain university education.
He said, the KP government is working closely with communities of Merged Areas through various provincial departments and attached bodies, with support from Federal Government, donor agencies, the United Nations, and international community and organizations, to take the erstwhile FATA to mainstream democratic platform and implement post-merger reforms consequently.
