Chief minister says NWFP is "at war"

Peshawar, Apr. 3 (ANI): The North West Frontier Province is at 'war' and governance of the province is becoming difficult, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti has said.

"While Pakistan has played a frontline role in the war on terror, the NWFP has paid a huge price in the form of destruction of (its) infrastructure and bloodshed on larger scale due to combat along the Pak-Afghan border. The situation in Afghanistan has directly affected the tribal belt, resulting in a third element of militancy gaining momentum," Hoti said.

Addressing training officers at the National School of Public Policy, Hoti said the federal government should provide "enormous funds" to the province, as its people were "fighting a war for the survival and existence of the whole country".

"Financial turmoil in the province has resulted in the birth of various problems," he said.

The Daily Times quoted Hoti, as saying that the NWFP was suffering from insurgency, terrorism, internal displacement, shortage of food and decline in the efficiency of the law enforcement agencies.

"FATA-like conditions are slowly developing in other parts of the country after starting in the settled districts of the province. There is a need for the other three provinces, in collaboration with the federal government, to help us because ignoring these conditions today could cause severe problems tomorrow," he said. (ANI)