TANK, Oct 11: The government initiated several development projects in Federally Administered Tribal Areas to save the young generation from falling in the hands of Taliban, said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Ghulam Dastagir Akhtar.

The tribal areas used to be peaceful places but militants converted those into bastions of terrorism, he told a ceremony here on Thursday. The ceremony was held on completion of training by 32 former militants at army-run Skill Development and Rehabilitation Centre.

Mr Akhtar appreciated army for imparting training and de-radicalising the former militants, who were arrested during operation Rah-i-Nijat in South Waziristan Agency.

A former Taliban commander Abdul Latif, who was also among the trainees, said that he was repentant for his past misdeeds and tendered apology for what he had done.“The army has taken extreme care of us during the training and we feel totally changed now. I will use the skills I have got here for the betterment of the lives of my family members,” he said.

South Waziristan Agency operation commander Mahmood Ahmed Hayat, Political Agent Shahidullah Khan, Tank DCO Amir Khattak and DPO Faridullah were also present on the occasion.

They said that four-month training in different disciplines would go a long way to divert the attention of the former militants to the improvement of their economic conditions.

Later, they were freed after assurances of their parents and members of the local jirga that they would not indulge in militancy again.

The former militants, majority of them young men, pledged that they would play a role in maintenance of peace in the area. — Correspondent