A day after Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi promised that reforms for the tribal areas will be implemented within the next four weeks, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister stated that the there will be no merger between the tribal and settled areas until next year, the Express Tribune newspaper reported

Addressing a news conference at the Chief Minister House on Thursday, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) the newspaper quoted Chief Minister Pervez Khattak saying that the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) are expected to be merged with the province in May 2019. Elections for the provincial assembly seats from Fata will be held by March or April 2019.

He also disclosed other decisions taken during a meeting of the National Implementation Committee (NIC) on Fata reforms which was held in Islamabad on Wednesday, the newspaper added.