1. I have declared that I shall contest the forthcoming general elections on 11 May, 2013 for NA 15 (Karak) as an independent candidate. If the Khattaks of NA 15 (Karak) repose their confidence in me I shall ensure that I lay the foundations of a progressive Karak District which shall serve as a model for all of Pakistan to follow. My concepts and outline plans are contained in the succeeding paragraphs. My attempt shall be to put my views across in a manner that it is easy for all, i.e. the professionals as well as the general public, to understand.
Hujra Visits

2. Karak is now an oil and gas producing District. The production levels today indicate only the beginning of a golden era for Pakistan as well as the Southern Districts and the Southern Agencies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA respectively. To give a rough estimate the value of the oil and gas being produced annually in Karak has crossed the $3 billion (Rs 300 billion) mark. The intensity of exploration (surveys) being carried out and the success rate of the new wells being attempted are most encouraging which indicates that the value of the oil and gas production in District Karak will increase manifolds in the coming ten years or so. Add to Karak’s production the oil and gas being produced in the neighboring Khattak inhabited Shakardarra of Kohat District and this area as a whole emerges as an area with the potential of becoming the future ‘energy producing basin’ for Pakistan. The combined production of crude oil in Karak and Shakardarra warrant the necessity of a refinery within this area. Karak and Shakardarra have already started playing an important role in Pakistan’s economy and this role is going to be upgraded to being substantial over the next few years. Even the resurgence of Pakistan’s economy shall be directly impacted by the development of Karak and the surrounding region.
Kohat – Bannu Basin
3. Karak, having produced more than $3 billion (Rs 300 billion) worth of oil and gas in the fiscal year 2012-13, earned around Rs 25 billion as Royalty on this production for the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Out of this revenue Karak, as its share, received only Rs 1.2 billion as Royalty for the fiscal year 2011-12. This amount (Rs 1.2 billion) really is like giving peanuts to the people of District Karak in return for the wealth that emerges from their lands. A more equitable formula will have to be arrived at in the days to come. This amount (Rs 1.2 billion) was placed at the disposal of the MNA from Karak who belonged to JUI(F), and the two MPAs from Karak, one from JUI(F) and one a provincial Minister from ANP for utilization in the fiscal year 2012-13. It is widely believed by the people of Karak that these funds were spent on various projects as and how it was desired by the public representatives and not in an orderly and planned manner aimed at achieving substantive long term objectives that could better the lives and prospects of District Karak and its people as a whole. People talk of gross irregularities but that is not my area of concern in this policy paper.

4. Over the past many weeks I have been pondering over this matter and have come to certain conclusions which too will be further refined through a process of consultations and debate coming from the general public as well as the educated professional people of the Khattak tribe itself. Views from professionals from anywhere who happen to read this document will certainly be most valued. My concentration in this policy paper is on Karak and the Khattaks as this is the Constituency I shall be contesting from and it is, therefore, absolutely essential for the people I desire to represent in the National Assembly to know how exactly do I think on matters that are important for the general uplift of Karak and the Khattaks. Being a Pakistani I am very concerned about all of Pakistan and after I have highlighted my vision for Karak I feel that people from all over Pakistan can then study it and see how best the model can be applied to their Districts and Constituencies.

5. Through my vision and model for NA 15 (Karak) I wish to ensure the achievement of objectives that will ensure:-

a. A general uplift of the District through creation of commercial activity.
b. The utilization of all funds received as Royalty, MNA or MPA funds and other such grants that maybe allocated by a government from time to time in a transparent manner and in a way that long term projects having a bearing on the collective lives of the people of Karak are undertaken in a planned manner through a properly staffed organization designed to achieve the laid down objectives.
c. Provision of employment opportunities within the District for the skilled and unskilled labour as well as for the highly educated professionals belonging to the District. It is intended to bring the KHATTAK brains back to the District by creating an infrastructure that provides job opportunities to those who work elsewhere for want of such opportunities at home/close to home.
d. The utilization of the District resources/revenues in a manner that within the next 5 years District Karak begins to serve as the role model for all other developed and underdeveloped Districts in the country to follow or emulate.
e. To make the people of Karak the masters of their own destiny and not be subservient to their public representatives for matters that affect their daily lives in as far as the basic amenities of a decent human life are concerned.

6. While these objectives and aims are not easy to achieve they are also not impossible to achieve if we are driven by an honesty of purpose. From my point of view I do realize and understand that if any resource rich district/area and its surrounding districts/areas are not developed at a fast pace we will see a Balochistan kind of a situation in that area in one form or another in due course of time. The people of Karak today watch, everyday, hundreds of tankers carry away crude oil from the oil wells of the District. When they go home many do not have clean drinking water to drink. Such deprivations lead to a simmering which, in turn, then develops into low intensity conflicts that, subsequently and inevitably, lead to full blown conflicts.

7. To begin with, the conflicts of interests begin in the area directly affected which in this case would be Karak and surrounding areas. Once the conflicts of interests erupt they gradually engulf what can be called a Region which in this case would be all the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the adjoining tribal belt i.e. Orakzai, Kurram, North Wazirstan and South Waziristan Agencies. Many amongst the general public may not know that besides oil and gas Karak has huge deposits of salt and gypsum besides huge quantities of some very valuable and sought after minerals. Other areas in the region are coal rich while the tribal Agencies are areas that still need to be explored. Karak, geographically, is the heart of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and while it must be developed at a quick pace it also cannot become an island of progress and prosperity with the rest of Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Southern FATA remaining neglected. With Karak as the epicenter of development the entire Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjoining FATA will have to develop together under a master plan prepared by the provincial and Federal governments so as to avoid a Balochistan kind of situation in this region in the years to come. Wise nations turn to prevention rather than ending up in incurable situations. People in power from here onwards will have to accord absolute attention to Karak, southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and all the southern agencies of FATA.

8. With what I have said above as a preamble I will now put before the readers of this document and all my fellow Khattak tribesmen my plan for the development of District Karak i.e. NA 15. The people of Karak must know in 2013 what they will be voting for if they chose to vote for me and also what they will be denying themselves and their future generations if they, for whatever reasons, choose not to vote for me. I do feel that this plan can also serve as a role model for all the Districts of Pakistan.

9. Before I outline the plan which will be subjected to a public debate during the election process and also placed before the educated professionals of the Khattak tribe let me show you how Karak is constituted politically, administartively as well as demographically. Those characteristics are as given below.

a. NA-15, as a Constituency, corresponds to the Administrative boundaries of District Karak.
b. The District has 21 Union Councils spread over three Tehsils.
c. The three Tehsils are Takhte Nasrati, Karak and Banda Daud Shah
d. Takhte Nasrati Tehsil comprises of 7 Union Councils, Karak Tehsil of 9 Union Councils and Banda Daud Shah Tehsil of 5 Union Councils.
e. There are two MPA Constituencies i.e. PK 40 which essentially covers Karak and Banda Dud Shah Tehsils i.e. of 14 Union Councils whereas PK 41 essentially covers Tehsil Takhte Nasrati i.e. 9 Union Councils. Amongst other things, let me say as a passing remark, that if elected I will endeavor to draw up a third Provincial Constituency revolving mainly around Tehsil Banda Daud Shah before the next scheduled general elections get due in 2017.
f. NA 15 i.e. all of Karak District is inhabited by one single tribe i.e. the Khattaks

10. The Long term vision that I have for the development of District Karak will entail the following:-
a. Creation of the Khattak Foundation (KF)
b. Creation of the Khattak Welfare Trust (KWF)
c. Creation of the Khattak Educational Trust
d. Development of a modern Industrial Hub/Estate.
e. To work out with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Frontier Corps
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Frontier Corps Balochistan, Provincial
Police of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan the minimum
Agenda of building the following in Karak:-
(1) Cadet College Karak.
(2) A Federal Government Public School and College for
women in Karak.
(3) A Fauji Foundation Hospital.
(4) At least one big project in Karak in collaboration
between the Fauji Foundation and the Khattak
Foundation that should provide post retirement jobs to the huge number of ex-servicemen of Karak and/or their children.

NOTE: – These projects will be asked for as a matter of right as Khattaks of Karak are second only to District Jhelum in the provision of manpower to all the organisations, military and paramilitary, named above. They serve in the rank and file and also as officers who have risen to be Generals. It is now time for the Armed forces and the paramilitary forces to reward the ex-servicemen of Karak, through the projects mentioned above, so that their sons and daughters get the facilities that can act as their stepping stone to a better life than their ancestors. The armed forces and the paramilitary forces mentioned above owe this as a debt to the Khattak ex-servicemen

f. To ensure that the local Karak Administration is entirely free
from political interference from the public representatives. The administration will serve the people on their own and the public representatives will come into action only when the administration is found to be ignoring the needs of the people or are unjust to anyone’s legal requirements/basic amenities etc
Meet The Press at Peshawar -15 Feb 2011

THE KHATTAK FOUNDATION

11. This Foundation is basically conceived as a body that will receive, directly, from the Provincial government the entire Royalty on oil and gas production of Karak District. If elected I shall also make available the MNA funds etc directly to this Foundation and shall try and convince the new MPAs to also funnel their MPA funds directly to the Khattak Foundation for transparent developmental activity throughout Karak which will then be planned and over seen by the Khattak Foundation itself. For this purpose The Khattak Foundation will comprise of the following:-

a. Chairman. It is proposed that all future incumbent MNAs
should be the Chairmen of The Khattak Foundation with the Chairman having the casting vote only which means he will vote for a plan/project, or against it, only when there is a tie amongst the Directors.
b. Directors.
(1) MPA from PK 40
(2) MPA from PK 41
(3) In case of PK 40 if the MPA is from Karak Tehsil then
the person from Banda Daud Shah Tehsil who may have contested the elections and secured the maximum votes in the Banda Daud Shah Tehsil polling stations will also be a Director. In case the MPA is from Banda Daud Shah the rule explained in this sub paragraph will apply and the losing candidate from Karak Tehsil securing maximum votes from Karak Tehsil polling stations will be taken as a Director.
(4) A Director will be taken from the Ulema of Karak District. Whoever contests elections from the Ulema platform and has the highest votes (from amongst participating Ulema Parties candidates) in the NA 15 elections is proposed to become a Director and represent the Ulema.
(5) A Director will be taken from amongst the huge ex Servicemen population of Karak District. The method to select this Director will be worked out through discussions with them.
(6) A Director will be taken from each Tehsil and Karak City to represent the general public at this highest body of the Khattak Foundation. Methodology to select or elect these 4xDirectors will be worked out after a consultation process.
(7) A Director will be taken from the highly educated youth of Karak District. This Director will have to be a Masters and between 25 to 30 years of age at the time of his appointment.

NOTE:- Together all these i.e. The Chairman and ten Directors will become the Board of Governors for the Khattak Foundation. Co-opted members of the Board will be the heads of the different Divisions (discussed below) but these members will not have a right to vote for, or against, the items that come up for voting before the Board of Governors.

b. The Finance Division. This Division will, within the Khattak Foundation, receive and disburse all funds besides ensuring that the funds and the spending of The Khattak Foundation are properly audited by a reputed Chartered Accountant Firm. This Department will be headed by a person appointed through a proper process and the appointment will have to be ratified by the Board of Governors through a vote. The position will be tenable by a Karak resident and the post will be properly advertised.

c. The Planning Division. This Division of the Khattak Foundation will be responsible for detailed planning for the development of Karak in all sectors like communication, health, education, industries, cottage industries, agriculture, power generation and small dams besides other aspects of the collective life of the Khattaks of Karak. After planning and according due priorities the plans shall be put before the Board of Governors that will debate each and every project and then, through a vote accept, or reject, the Planning Division’s projects and their priorities. Once this is done the approved projects will be communicated to the Finance Division which will allocate funds as per requirement and the priorities accorded by the Board of Governors in the light of the finances available which would, always, have been made available to the Board of Governors prior to the discussion on the projects.

d. The Executive Division. This Division will serve as the vehicle to recycle all the funds available as this Division will execute all the approved projects on a no profit basis. I said recycle because while the projects would have been completed on ground the funds spent would have found their way back to the Khattak Foundation through the following companies that will be created for the Khattak Foundation and will be owned by the Foundation itself. This Division will thus include:-

(1) A Construction Company owned by the Khattak Foundation itself which will carry out all the projects in the field of communications and civil works approved by the Board of Governors for the first three fiscal years i.e. up to 30 June 2016. In this manner, by mid-2016, the Khattak Foundation would actually own a full-fledged Construction Company that will by then be able to venture outside Karak District and obtain contracts all over Pakistan in order to earn revenue for the Khattak Foundation. For the first three years salaries and cost of machinery etc will be inbuilt in the projects allocated to the projected construction company which will provide skilled and unskilled Khattaks job opportunities. After it becomes a regular business venture in the year 2016 this company will be a constant source of revenue earning for the Khattak Foundation as well as a source of providing Khattaks of Karak job opportunities in projects all over Pakistan i.e. wherever the company can obtain contracts.

(2) A Public Health Sector Construction Company that will be able to undertake all public health projects such as provision of hand pumps, pressure pumps, construction of reservoirs, construction of small and medium sized dams, drilling of tube wells, laying of water and sewerage pipe lines etc that are approved by the Khattak Foundation Board of Governors anywhere in Karak. It too will function as a Company solely depending upon its exclusive rights to do all the Khattak Foundation projects up to 30 June 2016. Thereafter, all that has been said in (1) above for the Khattak Foundation construction company will apply to this company too. In short, it will by then become a company that will be able to look for contracts in its field of specialization all over Pakistan.

e. The Administration Division. Headed by an expert in Human Resources as its General Manager this Division will deal with all administrative details like hiring of human resources, dealing with disciplinary cases, salaries, pensions and all else that will have a bearing on the administrative upkeep of The Khattak Foundation.

The Khattak Welfare Trust

11. The Khattak Welfare Trust will be organized and run, more or less, like The Khattak Foundation which means that it too will have a Board of Governors which will be constituted like the Khattak Foundation. While the Chairman and the Directors who are taken as Directors based on the electoral results will be the same for the period of tenure of incumbent National or Provincial Assemblies of a particular time the rest of the Directors will be taken to represent the same segment of population as in The Khattak Foundation but that the individuals will not be the same as those who are Directors on the board of Governors of the Khattak Foundation.

12. ` Funding of the Khattak Welfare Trust. This Trust will be funded by the profits earned in due course by the projected commercial activities of the Khattak Foundation which is envisaged to own, in the course of the first three years, i.e. by June 2016, a construction company, a company specializing in projects in the field of irrigation, public health and water management including dams. Better off Khattaks shall be encouraged to donate generously to this Trust. Besides, the Khattak Foundation will also go into joint ventures in the Corporate Sector to broaden its revenue generation. A system of voluntary and regular contribution will be encouraged by various segments of the local population which will be converted into a pension scheme for people who will be able to opt for receiving that pension after the age of 60, or later, with the last extent being the age of 70. Efforts will also be made to get regular donations from philanthropists within the country as well as abroad. In its first two years a direct allocation will be made from the Royalty received by the Khattak Foundation and will be mainly used to grant scholarships to bright Khattak children who are university students in Pakistan and abroad. Subsequently, in time, when the Khattak Foundation becomes a profitable Foundation its Board of Governors will allocate a budget to this Trust in accordance with the funds available to it each year in terms of profits.

13. The Khattak Welfare Trust will comprise of various Divisions that will look after:-
a. Selection of students from within the tribe for education in reputed universities abroad.
b. Selection of deserving students on merit for education in various universities across the country.
c. The care of orphans and widows.
d. Helping the poorest to have their children married honourably.
e. Ensuring of medical treatment for the poorest in the tribe in as best a manner as is possible.
f. The Trust in due course will take over the new hospital in Karak and convert it into a most modern hospital which will include operation theatres for the most intricate operations. The hospital will be run on a public-private partnership ensuring the presence of the best specialists so that the Southern Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the adjoining FATA agencies are well served with the most modern medical facilities in Karak and they, thus, do not have to carry their seriously sick patients to Peshawar or elsewhere. The Trust will ensure free treatment for the Khattaks at this hospital as this hospital would be the collective property of the tribe through funds that belong to the people of Karak as a whole. If, however, free treatment is not viable in the early stages of the Trust treatment shall be subsidized as much as is possible.

The Khattak Educational Trust.

14. This Trust is envisaged in a manner that the reader just might think that it is a rather ambitious project. But I am not thinking of the year 2013 or even 2016 but far beyond that. The ground work for the future has to be done now. I am sure that the Revenue earnings of Karak District coming out of Royalty on oil and gas production in the District will steadily increase. No one can truly depict where it can lead to because while the oil and gas production is certain to increase it is also an obvious fact that the present meager percentage of Royalty given to the District will also increase manifolds. If elected by the people of Karak it will be my endeavor to have this done not only for Karak but for all oil and gas producing Districts of Pakistan. Additionally, a concerted effort will be made to increase the District revenue from levies on other very valuable minerals found in the District. For e.g. once a road is constructed to the coal producing mountainous remote areas of Karak revenues will increase through the production of coal. Today, the coal mines take coal out of the mountains that lie in Karak through mouths that are located in Punjab because of road accessibility on the Punjab side and the same being nonexistent on the Karak side. So as revenues are increased the activities of this Trust will also increase.

15. Once constituted through an act of the Board of Governors of the Khattak Foundation, The Khattak Educational Trust will carry out a complete survey of all existing government primary schools, high schools and colleges and create zones of the district in such a circular fashion that Karak city will be the centre point and the zones will be circles of five kilometres around it with the numbering going outwards. This exercise is meant to be identifying the far flung and peripheral places in the district that need greater attention in order to be brought at par to the comparatively more developed inner areas of the district. Priorities will be accorded and in the subsequent fiscal year i.e. 2014-15 funds will be made available to this Trust to take over the worst hit areas schools and convert them into Khattak Welfare Trust Schools and Colleges. Each year more schools will be added and once the outer most zone is completed the next inner zone will be taken up till over a time period all government schools and colleges in Karak become Khattak Welfare Trust Schools and Colleges. They shall then receive, besides the existing government funds, further funding from the Khattak Educational Trust. The children of our coming generations will then be receiving quality education and will be competent to handle their future professional lives confidently besides being able to aim at better jobs as compared to now. We cannot sit back and let conditions be as they are and let the future generations be dependent upon jobs that do not give them a decent subsistence. At some stage I can visualize the Khattak Educational Trust Schools and Colleges affiliated with a known group such as the FG Public Schools and Colleges for purposes such as recognition and upkeep of standards.

Industrial Estate/Hub.

16. Karak is now served by the Indus Highway running from Peshawar to Karachi. The Indus Highway passes through the length of Karak District i.e. more than 80 kms of the Indus Highway lies in Karak. Karak is now also linked to Punjab through Shakardarra and Kalabagh. A loaded trailer from Karachi will probably arrive in Karak from Karachi harbor in around 24 hours or less. Therefore, the acquisition of raw material for any industry from abroad is no issue anymore. The road through Shakardarra-Kalabagh into lower Punjab and through Kohat-Fatehjang into upper Punjab will facilitate finished goods making their way into the Punjab markets. The Indus Highway southwards all the way to Karachi and northwards to Peshawar will facilitate the movement of finished goods to Karachi and the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa respectively. In the days to come Afghanistan and the Central Asian States will also be accessible when conditions in Afghanistan have improved. What serves as the punch argument for having an Industrial Estate in Karak on modern lines is the availability of gas in abundance which can easily be used to drive a power plant and thus an Industrial Estate with its own power plant and guaranteed gas supply with good lines of communications in all directions is bound to be an attraction for small, medium and large size factories/industry. To top it all Karak and surrounding areas human resource is one of the best in the country in both skilled as well as unskilled labour. It is this labour that is moving the wheels of the industry all over Pakistan – why should it not be allowed to have an industrial hub of its own? I promise the people of Karak that if I am elected, one way or another, Karak will have an industrial estate to provide jobs closer to home.

The Ex Servicemen Aspect and the projects Related to them

17. Every Karak household has more than one person serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Frontier Corps and Frontier Constabulary. In almost every other house there is a story to be told about their elders or children who have been killed in action in 1965 and 1971 wars or during all kinds of military operations ever since independence in 1947. Karak has been a major provider of human resource to the Pakistan Army, in particular. It is now pay back time. In Karak the Fauji Foundation has to its credit only a very ordinary vocational institute. It is now time for the Army, Navy and Air Force to bring about a Cadet College in Karak and a Federal Government College for Women so that the sons and daughters of the ex-servicemen of Karak are provided quality education and instead of getting enrolled as sepoys these sons and daughters get an opportunity to become officers in the armed forces, doctors and engineers. This is the least that the army and the other services can do in order to recognize the contribution made by the Khattak manpower that has served, is serving and will serve in the armed forces and the paramilitary forces of Pakistan. Additionally, a Fauji Foundation Hospital in Karak, meant for the free treatment of the poor ex-servicemen and their kith and kin would amount to only a small token of recognition of the services rendered by the Khattaks in various arms of the armed forces. Hundreds of servicemen from Karak have laid down their lives for Pakistan ever since independence and their blood and extreme sacrifice now demand that Karak be accorded due attention by the armed forces in terms of welfare of the ex-servicemen and their families. It shall be my endeavor to liaise with the services headquarters and bring about the projects that I have mentioned in this policy paper.

The District Administration Role

18. In the simplest of terms the District Administration will be freed of political control and will serve the people directly in their respective fields. The people of Karak will no longer run around after public representatives for anything related to the normal civic life of individuals or of that of a village or area. The District Administration will tend to all complaints and will render a report of all complaints made to them and the disposal of those complaints on a weekly basis on a standard format. Moreover, a system will be evolved so that whenever a complaint or requirement is made to any segment of the District Administration the same will be duplicated to the MNA and the two MPAs so that a counter check mechanism is available. In short, the Administration will be freed from the shackles that the public representatives put around their feet and, in turn, the general public will be freed from their dependence upon the public representatives for the smallest justified requirement to the bigger aspects of individual and collective life. Karak will be a District wherein people will feel that they are the masters of their own destinies. INSHA ALLAH

Conclusion. In conclusion it shall suffice to say that I have only outlined my thoughts about how to make Karak a developed District for others to take as an example and emulate. The plan I have outlined can easily be modified and adopted for other Districts as suited to their peculiar characteristics. As I said this is an outline plan that will be polished and improved after a public debate, on and off line. Views and critique will be gladly accepted and the thus ongoing collective thought process will refine this outline plan. Karak has to develop and will develop. That is my promise to the Khattaks of Karak. The choice of choosing between the dark past and a bright future will belong to the people of Karak on 11 May 2013 when they cast their votes.

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