Daily Times

Workers of Qaumi Jirga beside volunteers of various political parties on Monday held a protest rally against the merger of the ex-tribal region into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and abolition of Frontier Crime Regulation here at Bab-e-Khyber, Jamrud.

Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the merger of the former tribal agencies, a large number of participants held black flags and chanted full-throat slogans contrary to merging and marked it, a black day.

The protestors took a rally from tehsil towards Bab-e-Khyber where it turned into a public gathering.

Addressing on the occasion chairman Qaumi Jirga Malik Bismellah Khan, leader of Fata Gran Alliance Malik Salahuddin, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz elite Malik Sardar Azam, Pakistan People Party district chief Hazrat Wali Afridi,local leader of Jamiat Ullema-e-Islam,Fazalehman Said Kabeer Afridi,tribal elders Malik Tahmash Khan, Malik Akbar and others said that three back on 31,May,2018,the then government decided merging of the ex-tribal region without consent of the tribal that was against the promise made by the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

“Merging is contrary to our rituals therefore it is unacceptable to us,” they argued.

Instead of providing relief, the merger had multiplied the number of troubles they added, and said poor law and order situation and lack of health and education further deteriorated the social status of the tribesmen.

They maintained that the alien judiciary system, imposed on merged tribal districts, failed to provide justice to the applicants while with suspension of students’ scholarship because of merging deprived them of getting education.

They demanded the government to revise forcibly implemented merger decision and enforce Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) with certain amendments.