ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday said that the parliament showed “ill-intentions” regarding the FATA-KP merger, while he also called the move a “collective suicide”.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Fazl said that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch had visited him earlier and assured him that a FATA-KP merger would not take place.
He added that the two dignitaries had also assured him that the Rewaj Act would also be withdrawn.
The JUI-F chief said that the bill was “unexpectedly” presented and approved and that areas from the PATA and Balochistan were also included, which he added was unfair, since the reservations of the people of PATA and Balochistan were not taken into consideration.
Fazl stressed that the JUI-F still considers that the matter should be transferred to a Jirga in FATA and that opinions and views of the people of the federally administered areas must be taken into consideration.
On Monday, JUI-F workers protested outside the KP assembly against the FATA-KP merger.