PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mehmood Khan has said history was made on July 20 in tribal districts with first ever provincial elections in the area.
Addressing a press conference in Peshawar on Monday, the chief minister said the representatives of trial districts in the KP Assembly will be given representation in the provincial cabinet. He said the PTI is in contact with the independent candidates who have won elections in merged districts and they have been invited to join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The chief minister said the merger process of erstwhile Fata with KP was completed with peaceful provincial elections in merged districts. He congratulated the newly-elected members of the KP Assembly from tribal districts on their victory in elections and hoped that they will work for development of their areas. He said the people of merged tribal districts have proved that they love peace and democracy.
Mehmood Khan said the provincial government did not make any interference in the elections in tribal districts. He said results of elections would have been different had the government interfered with the process. He said the government will fulfil all its pledges which it made with the people of merged districts.
The chief minister said although the PTI emerged as largest political party in tribal districts elections, but it could not achieve targeted results because some of its members contested the elections as independent candidates. He said the PTI members who contested elections as independents damaged the party position and they will face action. He said the PTI leaders who did not support the party candidates in the elections will also face action.
Meanwhile, KP Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai said most of the winning independent candidates in the polls are supporters of PTI and they are in contact with the ruling party.
He said the PTI leaders who violated the party discipline in the polls will face action.
The minister said peaceful holding of elections in merged districts is victory of people of tribal districts. He said elections were transparent and everyone should accept its results. He said even the staunch opponents of Fata-KP merger actively participated in the elections.
