Islamabad, The Senate Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions, chaired by Senator Hilal Ur Rehman, convened at Parliament House to discuss several key issues including the absorption of Khasadars from Orakzai and Bajaur Districts and the allocation of funds for South Waziristan.
According to Senate of Pakistan, the committee focused on the absorption of 23 Khasadars from Orakzai District and 8 from Bajaur District. It was noted that while the 23 Khasadars from Orakzai had been absorbed, the 8 from Bajaur could not be due to their retirement prior to the absorption process. This issue was highlighted by Senator Hidayat Ullah, who pointed out that despite the Chief Minister of KPK’s absorption order in April 2019, these personnel retired in July 2019. The Additional Chief Secretary of KPK, Syed Imtiaz H Shah, clarified that the Act for absorption was enacted in September 2019, and those who retired before couldn’t be absorbed. The committee directed a legal review to explore absorption possibilities for the 8 Khasadars.
The committee also examined the non-absorption of 91 Khasadars from South Waziristan, attributed to their failure to submit necessary documents. The KPK Police Department was directed to reconsider and report back at the next meeting.
The discussion then shifted to the Rs. 1.5 Billion released by the Federal Government for the Relief and Rehabilitation Department of KPK to compensate damaged houses in South Waziristan. Officials proposed transferring this amount from the development to the current account, but faced procedural challenges. The Finance Ministry was urged to find a solution, as the Planning and Development Department had not responded to transfer requests.
Additionally, the committee scrutinized the Merged Areas Governance Programme (MAGP-II), a $44 Million UNDP-funded initiative focusing on border governance and service delivery. Senator Sania Nishtar’s inquiry about on-ground details received inadequate responses, leading Senator Rehman to label the scheme as fraudulent due to a lack of local administration awareness. A Sub-Committee was formed to further investigate.
The meeting also reviewed the implementation of digital systems in KPK, including GIS, digital procurement, and biometric verification. The committee expressed dissatisfaction with the progress and urged the KPK government to embrace digital procurement for better governance.
In attendance were Senators Dost Muhammad Khan, Sania Nishtar, Hidayat Ullah, Secretary SAFRON Pervaiz Ahmed Junejo, Additional Chief Secretary KPK Syed Imitiaz H. Shah, and other senior officials.