PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly Sunday passed the FATA merger bill with a two-thirds majority, clearing the last hurdle as the bill has already been approved by the upper and lower houses of the parliament. According to the vote count, 92 provincial lawmakers in the 124-seat provincial assembly voted in favour of the bill while seven in opposition. KP Law Minister Imtiaz Shahid tabled the bill seeking the merger of FATA with the province amid ruckus as the lawmakers associated with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) as well as disgruntled PTI members chanted slogans to register their protests. KP Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak while addressing the assembly said those who are not affected by the draconian law – FCR – are protesting against the merger.”Even Afghanistan is against the merger. Achakzai is sitting in Balochistan but against the merger of FATA. I would ask Maulana Sahib [JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman] why are you against the merger which is ridding the FATA people of FCR. Why don’t you want that the good laws which you are enjoying here shall be applied on the people of FATA as well?” he asked. “During a meeting of the FATA reforms committee, Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had told me that the matter of FATA merger with KP is being settled once and for all,” he said. “I informed Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the last meeting on FATA reforms 10 days ago that if you don’t do it [FATA merger] now, you will leave a big problem for future,” he added. The chief minister asked the opponents of the bill to unite with those who are in favour. He said that the local government elections will be held in FATA this year, whereas the general elections will be held next year. He made it clear that Shariah Nizam-e-Adl Regulation would not be touched under the bill. A resolution was also approved in the assembly to exempt Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) from taxes for a period of 10 years. The resolution was presented by Dr Haider Ali, which was signed by all the parliamentary leaders of the political parties except for the JUI-F. The resolution demanded a development package of Rs 100 billion for the PATA, just like the FATA region. It demanded a subsidy on the electricity. The resolution also asked for continuation of Sharia justice system in the Malakand Division. On the other hand, Leader of Opposition Lutfur Rehman said the assembly did not have the mandate to change the 120-year-old history of FATA.”Why are you passing the bill in your last days? Why are you taking a decision which affects the next assembly?” he asked.”We are standing with the people of FATA. We want to place the problems which will emerge after the bill before you people. The people of FATA should be given the right of taking this decision,” he added, suggesting that a referendum be held in FATA to build consensus on the bill first. Soon after the assembly session began, a heated argument ensued as Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmaker Ali Shah slammed JUI-F for delaying the merger. “I will congratulate every party except JUI-F because of the hurdles it placed in the path of the merger for two years. If they had struggled with the same zeal for implementation of Shariah law, it would have been a reality.” Responding to Shah’s comments, JUI-F leader Mufti Said Janan told the PPP leader to be specific in his speech and not make political statements. Taking the floor, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Haider Ali welcomed the abolition of articles 246 and 247. He stressed for maintaining tax exemptions keeping in view that PATA was also severely hit by militancy and natural calamities. “We should be given subsidy in electricity,” he said, and demanded that the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations be given the status of an Act. The lawmakers from Malakand division also asserted the PATA issue. “PATA has also been a victim of terrorism,” said Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) MPA Inayatullah Khan. “If FATA is being given a monetary package, it’s fair for PATA to receive one as well,” he said, putting forth three demands: tax exemption for 10 years; Nizam-e-Adal Regulations be kept intact; and Rs100 billion special package for PATA. He also asked for a survey to ascertain if the people of tribal areas want to pay taxes. Hailing the merger, Awami National Party (ANP) MPA Sardar Hussain Babak said the lines drawn by Britain dividing Pakhtuns were being eliminated now. “The next demand will be to include Balochistan’s Pakhtuns in KP to make a large province of Pakhtuns in the country,” he said. PTI MPA Shah Farman thanked the National Assembly members as well who voted for the bill.”Our third step will be to include the Pakhtuns of Afghanistan in Pakistan,” he said. Sikandar Sherpao of the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) said that all the parties and lawmakers should now start struggling for improving the lives of the people of FATA.”It is our weakness that FATA is not developed at par with the rest of the country,” he said. At least 14 people were injured in clashes outside the provincial assembly as JUI-F staged protest ahead of the vote on legislation proposing merger of FATA with KP. The protesters set plastic diversions for the bus rapid transit project on fire as roads leading to the assembly were closed down. JUI-F workers burned tires, attempted to lock the assembly door and ripped apart posters of lawmakers who voted in favour of the bill in the parliament. A heavy contingent of police deployed around and inside the assembly resorted to baton-charge and tear gas shelling to disperse the protesters. At least 20 protesters were arrested as police cleared the nearby roads. The injured include three policemen, two journalists and nine protesters. The bill seeks to amend seven articles in the constitution of Pakistan to allow implementation of the proposed reforms. It seeks to omit paragraph C of sub-clause 2 of Article 1 under which FATA is placed as a separate territory of the country like the four provinces. The omission will allow the tribal areas to merge with territory of KP. The bill proposes amending clause 1 of Article 51 by reducing the number of seats in the National Assembly from 342 to 326. It adds clause 3A after clause 3 to give legal cover to representatives who will be elected from FATA in the general elections 2018. They will continue as member of the National Assembly till the expiry of their five-year term, and after the five years, the clause will stand omitted. It also seeks removal of the word ‘Federally Administered Tribal Areas’ from the clause 5, under which seats of the National Assembly are allocated on population basis, and from sub-clause 1 of Article 155 which deals with the complaints and interferences with water supplies. The bill pursues changes in Article 59, which deals with Senate, by reducing the number of Senate members from 104 to 96. It omits the sub-clause (b) of clause 1 that allocates eight members to the tribal areas. It will also delete the sub-clause (b) of clause 3 of the same article which states that four senators elected from FATA shall retire after three years while another four after next three years. Furthermore, it seeks omission of the word ‘Federally Administered Tribal Areas’ from its sub-clauses (b) and (f) of Article 272 which defines the constitution of Senate. It proposes omitting clause C of Article 246 which defines and names FATA and seeks addition of clause D which states that laws applicable in these areas will remain applicable until repealed or changed by the competent authority. Under Article 247, the competent authority will be the federal government until after the elections when the jurisdiction for altering and repealing the laws prevailing in these areas will be passed to the assembly. Published in Daily Times, May 28th 2018.