PESHAWAR: For all the hype around the mainstreaming of the merged areas, representatives from the region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly feel alienated from the treasury and opposition, finding little support for highlighting issues affecting the people of erstwhile Fata.
This sense of frustration was palpable during the recent in-house protests of political leaders from the tribal districts against what they called reneging of the government on commitments made under the 25th Amendment under which Fata was integrated into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
These commitments included giving the tribal districts three per cent share in National Finance Commission (NFC) Award amounting to Rs100 billion per annum for development works, minerals’ royalty besides administrative and judicial reforms. This was aimed at socio-economic uplift of the area at par with the rest of the province and country.