Jobs not sanctioned as SAFRON and FATA Secretariat lock horns on September 27, 2017ISLAMABAD: Disagreement between the FATA Secretariat and Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) has caused inordinate delay in the sanctioning of thousands of posts in the service delivery sector in the militancy-plagued tribal region, a senior official at the FATA Secretariat said. “Almost 6,000 new posts in service delivery await Ministry of Finance approval […]
Return to South Waziristan on September 26, 2017In 2017 I returned to my homeland, South Waziristan exactly 10 years after I left it as it had become a stronghold for militants. The process of returning the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) of the tribal belt to their homes was completed last December. The whole region is regarded as one of the most dangerous […]
First Mehsud jirga on return to SWA bans women’s photos, videos on September 16, 2017Islamabad: The recently-repatriated elders of Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan tribal region held a mammoth jirga, or tribal council, culminating in an 11-point declaration covering issues like dispute resolution mechanisms and marriage customs. Restrictions on women: Two clauses of the declaration are conspicuous for restrictions imposed on women’s liberties. Clause no4 bars women from visiting […]
Peace in Afghanistan seems a distant dream for Afghans on September 15, 2017“Kabul-Islamabad can’t afford to live in hostility no matter if both have one thousand differences,” are the words uttered by a seasoned Afghan journalist, Hikmat Safi, back in July 2013 soon after I entered Kabul — a densely populated city with constant security checkpoints and concentration of international and Afghan security forces. The unfriendly ties […]
Peace in Afghanistan seems a distant dream for Afghan on September 15, 2017“Kabul-Islamabad can’t afford to live in hostility no matter if both have one thousand differences,” are the words uttered by a seasoned Afghan journalist, Hikmat Safi, back in July 2013 soon after I entered Kabul — a densely populated city with constant security checkpoints and concentration of international and Afghan security forces. The unfriendly ties […]
FATA reforms process to get fresh push on September 13, 2017ISLAMABAD: Contrary to earlier reports that a senior in-service military official will be appointed as chief executive officer (CEO) for FATA Reforms Committee, a retired civilian officer is likely to take charge of the post instead. Requesting anonymity, a senior security official said that parliamentarians from FATA wanted a civilian CEO with experience in tribal […]
KP struggles to bolster terror-hit tourism sector on September 26, 2016Islamabad: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government is struggling hard to attract foreign and domestic tourists through various initiatives for revival of tourism sector of KP, adversely affected by terrorism, militancy and natural disasters, provincial tourism officials says. Zahra Alam, media manager for Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP), told News Lens Pakistan as normalcy returned to the province, the […]
First ever FATA University commences session from October on September 1, 2016DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The remote and underdeveloped tribal region on Pakistan border with Afghanistan is to have its first ever Fata University, commencing regular classes from October this year. “We’re making hectic efforts to better prepare our students to tackle challenges head-on and the university was a long-standing demand of tribal masses,” Vice Chancellor of […]
Tribesmen press for merger of FATA with Pakhtunkhwa on August 13, 2016ISLAMABAD: An alliance of political leaders from Pakistan’s remote tribal regions has threatened to stage countrywide protests if their demand to merge the under-developed tribal area with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province is not met this weekend. “We will intensify our movement to launch rallies and demonstrations across the country if our legitimate demand regarding merger […]
Girls pour back to school in former militant strongholds on July 27, 2016DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Girls have surged back to school in former Taliban heartlands in Pakistan’s northwest tribal frontier since the militants were flushed out by long army assaults, officials and tribesmen say. Even the home village of the former Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief, the late Hakimullah Mehsud, has witnessed girls flocking to the local school. […]