Daily Times

PESHAWAR: The FATA Political Alliance (FPA) has expressed dissociation from a peace conference, sponsored by Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), regarding future of FATA in Peshawar on December 18, and called upon the government for immediate merger of Tribal Areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) without any further delay.

The FPA also demanded the announcement a comprehensive fiscal relief package for rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure in Tribal Areas, besides population census, and local bodies elections, should be conducted in tribal regions.

This was crux of a day-long tribal jirga held under aegis of FPA at Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday.

FPA President and ANP tribal leader, Nisar Mohmand, JI FATA Ameer Sardar Khan, PTI leader Iqbal Mohammad Afridi, PPP Jehanraiz Khan, JI activist Zarnoor Afridi, Pakhtunkhwa Ulasi Tehreek leader, Dr Said Alam Mehsud, representatives of TQK, Shahid Shah were keynote speakers at the event. Besides, tribal elders, members of civil society organizations, legal experts, tribal youth leaders, also participated.

The participants stressed the need for complete abolishment of the Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR), and merger of FATA into KP. In this regard, they lauded the endorsement of constitutional amendments bill by upper house of the parliament, and called upon the government to immediate implement the recommendations of the Fata reforms committee with it true letter and spirit, to mitigate the suffering of people of tribal agencies.

Speakers called upon the FATA Parliamentarians to play their due role in early merger of FATA into KP. They said tribal people were not kept further in dark, and want to get-rid the black law, because FCR is mother of all ill in FATA, which should be completely abolished immediately, the participants demanded.

Nisar Mohmand while read out declaration of the tribal jirga, said that FPA has fully disowned the JUI-F called peace conference on December 18, and decided to hold protest rallies and demonstrations across the Fata on the same day.

He termed the event as completely anti-FATA, which could not be acceptable to them. He vowed to continue efforts till merger of KP-Fata merger, and warned that if any specific political party was created hurdle in this regard, would be strongly protested.

Sardar Khan said tribal people had deprived from all fundamental rights due to imposition of the draconian law, FCR for last several decades in FATA. He said some political figures were being tried to create hurdle in repealing of the FCR, and merger of FATA into KP. However, he said they would continue struggle despite all odds, to get-rid the tribal people from British-era the black law.

He strongly opposed the idea to run affairs of FATA secretariat under Ministry of States and Frontier Regions, what he termed that the SAFRON as main hurdle in development and mainstreaming the FATA.

Sardar Khan said that Fata is fifth entity of the country, despite the fact that it was kept ignored in National Finance Commission Award. He proposed the transfers of incumbent Political Agent and Assistant Political Agents in all tribal agencies, to expedite the reforms process in FATA.

Other speakers including Iqbal Afridi, Zarnoor Afridi, Jehangraiz Khan, Dr Said Alam Mehsud, Khalilur Rehman, Gul Fazal, Gulzar Khan Mohmand demanded the comprehensive fiscal relief package for rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure in FATA, holding of census, local bodies’ elections, and representation in provincial assembly to FATA.