ISLAMABAD: Tribal leaders on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to provide three per cent of the National Finance Commission Award (NFC) for Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) as soon as possible.

This demand was presented before the PM by a delegation of parliamentarians from the FATA region led by Muneer Khan Orakzai in a meeting in Islamabad. Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shah Farman was also present on this occasion.

Imran assured them to soon give them three per cent of share from the NFC after devising a mechanism of providing this allocation a constitutional protection.

The parliamentarians asked him to form a policy for the residents of FATA regarding possession of weapons. This should be noted that the previous government had approved the amendment in the policy of commercial import of weapons.

They also asked the premier to increase the number of members of provincial assemblies in FATA areas from 16 to 24.

Imran said development in tribal areas was the top priority of the government and the government was striving to complete the merger process without any further delay.

He said the tribal people had faced many difficulties and concerned officers should set their direction to play their due role in solving such problems.

The prime minister said tribal people had the right on the minerals and these should be spent on the construction and development of the area.

He said the government was also striving to establish the local government system in the Fata.