Federal govt forms 11-member advisory council to oversee KP affairs

The federal government on Sunday formed an 11-member advisory council to assist Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi in running provincial affairs and ordered the immediate establishment of Area Development Secretariats in 12 designated districts of the province.

The measures were announced following the declaration of an emergency in KP under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution. Under the order, the governor will perform the functions of the provincial government on behalf of the federal government, with assistance from the advisory council. The order took effect immediately.

The council includes Tariq Mehmood Pasha (Advisor for Finance, Revenue, Excise and Taxation), Dr Syed Amir Abdullah (Advisor for Education), retired Lt Gen Nigar Johar Khan (Advisor for Health), Samar Haroon Bilour (Advisor for Information and Broadcasting), Dr Sarfaraz Ali Shah (Advisor for Mines & Minerals), Amir Javed (Advisor for Law and Parliamentary Affairs), Dr M Irshad (Advisor for Industries and Commerce), Kifayatullah Khan (Advisor for Home and Tribal Affairs), Maulan Muhammad Tayyab Qureshi (Advisor for Auqaf and Religious Affairs), Osman Saifullah Khan (Advisor for Energy and Power) and Asif Rafiq Afridi (Advisor for Communication & Works).

The first meeting of the advisory council is scheduled for 6pm on Sunday under the chairmanship of Governor Kundi.

The federal government has also ordered the immediate establishment of Area Development Secretariats (ADS) in 12 designated districts to improve law and order, public safety, governance and development.

The districts are Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai, North Waziristan, Upper South Waziristan and Lower South Waziristan.

The secretariats will operate under Area Representative and Development Councils (ARDCs), comprising prominent local figures and headed by chairpersons. The chairpersons, vice-chairpersons, spokespersons and members will be appointed under a prescribed procedure and for specified terms.

The Additional Chief Secretary of KP for the designated districts will head the Area Development Secretariats and serve as their administrator.

Provincial government officers and personnel from other departments posted in these districts will come under the administrative and operational control of the secretariats.

The administrator will exercise the provincial government's administrative and law-enforcement powers in the designated districts and will be authorised to establish organisational structures for governance, security and development. The administrator will also oversee district administrations, law-enforcement agencies and relevant departments.

The order empowers the administrator to issue directions to the civil administration, police and military authorities, as well as orders concerning the secretariats' operational, organisational and administrative affairs. The administrator may also direct the allocation and transfer of funds.

Further postings and transfers in the designated districts may be ordered by the prime minister from time to time on the administrator's recommendations. Coordination among federal institutions, the armed forces and provincial departments will be used to improve security and law enforcement.

The order also allows departments to be reorganised and other measures to be taken to support public safety, economic stability, relief operations and the provision of essential services.

Orders, notifications, directions and measures issued by the administrator will have the same legal status as those issued by the provincial government.