Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Saturday assured a delegation of Khyber Students Association, University of Peshawar, of his full support in resolving issues faced by students from merged districts in public sector universities across the province.
The delegation, led by Pakistan Peoples Party leader and former provincial assembly candidate Malik Wahid Shah, called on the Governor and discussed the challenges confronting students belonging to the merged districts. Association President Alamzeb, Engineer Shehzad, Malik Khandan Afridi and other representatives were also present on the occasion.
During the meeting, the delegation apprised the Governor of difficulties relating to admissions, scholarships, accommodation and other facilities, saying that students from the merged districts were facing multiple challenges and required effective measures for their resolution.
Speaking on the occasion, Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said that after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, various powers had been devolved to the provinces. Referring to the FATA merger and operations in the region, he said the provincial government had been provided a special grant by the federation, but alleged that the rights of the tribal people had not been duly safeguarded.
He said that both the people of the province and the merged districts were facing numerous issues and challenges.
“I alone cannot resolve these problems, nor can you do so individually. We all need to play a collective role to ensure a permanent and effective solution,” he remarked.
The Governor assured the delegation that he would take up the matter with the relevant authorities and extend all possible cooperation to address the concerns of students from the merged districts.
Meanwhile, Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said that progress was underway on development projects in Chitral, including the Chitral-Garam Chashma Road, and directed the relevant authorities to expedite work for the facilitation of the local population.
He expressed these views during a meeting with a delegation from Chitral led by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Provincial Vice President and former provincial minister Salim Khan.
The meeting discussed in detail the Chitral-Garam Chashma Road project and other development schemes in the area.
The Governor said that he had recently issued instructions to officials of the National Highway Authority regarding the road project and added that progress was also being made on other initiatives.
He said the people of Chitral had always remained sincere supporters of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and that resolving their problems was among his priorities.
Matters related to the displaced persons of Arandu were also discussed during the meeting, besides deliberations on party organizational affairs.