President Asif Zardari signed an order here on Thursday to change the status of Kala Dhaka, a part of Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata), and made it the 25th district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Speaking at a special signing ceremony at Aiwan-i-Sadr, President Zardari reiterated the government`s resolve to bring the country`s far flung areas into the mainstream of national life and said that with the improvement of security situation, reforms would be brought in the tribal areas through enforcement of Political Parties Act and suitable amendments to the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR).
According to prepared text of the speech, the president congratulated the people of Kala Dhaka on the fulfilment of their desire and said that democracy was all about honouring the wishes of the people. “If the people of Kala Dhaka want to change the status of their area for attracting better facilities, they had every right to demand and be given the new status,” he added.
Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar told Dawn that the president complimented the KP governor and chief minister for having initiated the move. The president said that he believed in politics of consensus and wanted take all the stakeholders on board. It was through consensus that the government restored the 1973 Constitution and increased the share of the provinces in the NFC Award, he said and added: “We will continue this policy of consensus and make progress.” The president while commenting on the problems faced by the country said the challenges were so huge that no single party or institution could solve it on its own. He added that Kala Dhaka had now joined the country`s mainstream and become part of settled areas and it would be entitled to better facilities.
The president urged both the federal and provincial governments to take special interest in the uplift and development of Kala Dhaka and said that there should be a special development package for the area. The ceremony was attended among others by KP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi, federal ministers, provincial ministers, members of Parliament, elders of the area and government officials. Our Correspondent from Kala Dhaka adds: In June 2010, the KP chief minister had announced at a jirga in Peshawar to change the tribal status of Kala Dhaka and rename it as `Torgar`.
Speaking at the ceremony in Islamabad, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and provincial minister Nimroz Khan, who is also elected MPA from Kala Dhaka, said that the miscreants tried to infiltrate the territory but the tribesmen foiled their all attempts. They said that mega developmental package, which was announced earlier, would be implemented and people of the newly created district would enjoy all the basic amenities and services. They said that it would be a model and modern district of the province. – Dawn
