PESHAWAR (Kashmir English): The federal government has ordered the immediate establishment of an Area Development Secretariat (ADS) in 12 designated districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to improve law and order, public safety, governance and development.
Under the directive, the secretariat will operate under the supervision of the Area Representative and Development Council (ARDC), which will comprise prominent figures from the designated districts and be headed by a chairman.
The designated districts include Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai, North Waziristan, Upper South Waziristan and Lower South Waziristan.
The chairman, vice chairman, spokesperson and members of the ARDC will be appointed under the prescribed procedure and for the specified tenure.
The Additional Chief Secretary (Designated Districts) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will head the Area Development Secretariat and serve as its administrator.
Under the order, provincial government officers and personnel from other agencies deployed in the designated districts will come under the administrative and operational control of the secretariat.
The prime minister may also order further postings and transfers in these districts on the administrator’s recommendations.
The administrator will exercise the provincial government’s administrative, managerial and law enforcement powers in the designated areas. The administrator will also have the authority to establish governance, security and development structures and oversee district administrations, law enforcement agencies and relevant departments.
The directive empowers the administrator to issue instructions to the civil administration, police and military authorities, as well as make decisions concerning the secretariat’s operational, organizational and administrative affairs.
The administrator will also be authorized to issue orders regarding the allocation and transfer of funds.
According to the order, security and law enforcement will be strengthened through coordination with federal agencies, the armed forces and provincial institutions. Departments may also be reorganized, and necessary measures taken to ensure public safety, economic stability, relief operations and the provision of essential services.
Orders, notifications, directives and measures issued by the administrator will carry the same legal status as those issued by the provincial government.
The federal directive further states that the provisions of Chapter III of Part IV of the Constitution, Article 175(3), and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Rules of Business, 1985, will not apply in the designated districts.
The order takes effect immediately.
