Islamabad; April 13th, 2021: The National Assembly Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) met today at 11:00 a.m. in Committee Room of Ministry of SAFRON, S-Block, Pak-Secretariat, Islamabad under the Chairmanship of Mr. Sajid Khan, MNA.
2.    The Secretary, Health Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa briefed the Committee on the steps taken regarding the provision of health facilitates in Tribal districts erstwhile FATA in detail. To a question regarding establishment of Medical Colleges in FATA, he informed that a consultant had already been hired on the direction of the Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for preparing a feasibility report with regard to the establishment of 03 Medical Colleges in Tribal Districts on priority basis. In this regard, the Committee recommended that the said Medical Colleges should be established on the most feasible sites in erstwhile FATA. The Secretary further informed that 25 specialist doctors out of 100 and 50 Emergency Medical Officers out of 219 have been appointed under Accelerated Implementation Program (AIP) schemes and posted in various Hospitals of Tribal Districts. He further informed that 300 Medical Officers will also be recruited upto 20th April, 2021 and will be posted in various Hospitals of Tribal Districts. After briefing, the Committee recommended that make functional all the Hospitals with provision of all the requisite equipments and ensure the attendance of Doctors and Paramedic Staff in the Hospitals of Tribal Districts. The Committee further recommended that transfer the notorious staff and post well reputed local doctors/paramedic staff in the Hospital of Tribal Districts.
3.    The Committee also discussed the issue of allocation of seats in Medical and Dental Colleges for the students of FATA and Balochistan under the project for Opportunities of Higher Education for Balochistan and FATA Students briefly and made the following recommendation for consideration of Federal Cabinet:-
a)    That the Cabinet shall pass a decision and direct to the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC), Higher Education Commission (HEC) as well as Provincial Governments to admit the FATA and Balochistan students under the above mentioned project on immediate basis.
4.    The meeting was attended by MNAs: Mr. Gul Dad Khan, Mr. Gul Zafar Khan, Mr. Muhammad Iqbal Khan, Mr. Abdul Shakoor Shad, Ms. Aliya Hamza Malik, Mst. Shaheen Naz Saifullah and Ms. Ayesha Rajab Ali and Officers/Officials of the Ministry and its attached Departments.