Daily Times

KHYBER AGENCY: The tribesmen on Tuesday held a demonstration at Charwazgai area now called Hamza Baba Chowk of Landi Kotal tehsil against possible merging of the tribal belt into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The rally was organised jointly by Jamiat Ulema-e Islam (JUI-F) and Khyber Union in which a large number of political workers, tribal elders and representatives of the youth community participated.

The agitators, carrying banners and placards inscribed with their demands, chanted full-throat slogans including ‘go Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) go’ and ‘unacceptable merging’. While addressing the protesters, the leaders including FATA JUI-F general secretary Mufti Ijaz, FATA Grand Alliance supreme leader Malik Khan Marjan, Khyber Union Bazar president Gul Afridi, Qabail Youth Movement president Muhammad Saeed Khan and others categorically rejected the proposal of merging FATA into KP, and asserted that the decision was made without their consent and would be rejected at every forum.

“Instead of being an integral part of underdeveloped KP, the tribesmen would prefer their own province namely Qabailistan,” they announced while.

They maintained that they wanted to abolish the FCR, however merging FATA into KP could be an American agenda. Furthermore, they said that the decision cannot be enforced on the tribesmen and would be resisted accordingly.

“The destroyed infra-structure of the tribal belt needs to be reconstructed to resume peace, development and prosperity in the region,” they remarked adding that they are capable of securing their rights and traditions without merging into KP.

They threatened to intercept and block motorway, GT road and Pak-Afghan roads, otherwise. The Pak-Afghan highway remained suspended for traffic for two hours creating problem for transporters and travellers.

Published in Daily Times, May 23^rd 2018.