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Decision on Fata merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa left to

next government
Syed Irfan RazaUpdated May 17, 2018
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ISLAMABAD: Finally after a year-long debate in the parliament on much-
awaited merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province, the government on Wednesday passed the buck to the
next government on the decision regarding the controversial issue.

It is believed that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) made this
decision apparently to avoid annoyance of its two allies — Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F
(JUI-F) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) — when general elections are
just around the corner. JUI-F emir Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PkMAP president
Mehmood Khan Achakzai have been strongly opposing the merger plan on the pretext
that it is against the will of Fata people. On the other hand, major opposition parties
— the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) — are in favour
of the merger.

Minister for States and Frontier Region (Safron) retd Lt Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch told
the National Assembly on Wednesday that the coming government would execute the
merger of tribal areas with KP.

“No legislation is being made in this regard and the present status of Fata will remain
intact,” he added.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD

It has also been learnt that if the merger is carried out before the expiry of the tenure
of the PML-N government (before May 31), it will create complications as
delimitation of KP Assembly’s constituencies comprising tribal areas will have to be
done within the remaining 15 days, which is impossible.

Zafarullah Jamali resigns from NA seat while criticising PML-N

govt
The Safron minister said the government had almost implemented most of the
decisions on Fata reforms and extended the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and
Peshawar High Court to tribal areas.

The government had allocated Rs100 billion for development of Fata under the
National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, he said, adding that a law was being
introduced to increase KP Assembly seats to absorb tribal areas in the province.
Presently Fata has 12 National Assembly seats which are said to be double in number
as compared to the quota fixed for the entire country on the basis of population.

The minister said according to new law of allocation of seats, the elections on KP
Assembly seats for tribal areas could be held next year.
Opposing the merger plan, Maulana Fazl said the merger of tribal areas with KP was
“part of a foreign agenda”. “A representative of United Nation told me that Fata
reforms were part of a UN agenda,” he added.

He said the government had backed out on its promises on Fata and was not
considering the will and opinion of tribal people on the merger plan.

The JUI-F chief said the Fata issue came under the ministry of Safron but it had been
referred to the ministry of law and justice for finalising the reforms plan.

Zafarullah Jamali resigns

One of the significant features of the NA session on Wednesday was resignation of
former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali from his lower house seat.

Mr Jamali, hailing from Balochistan’s Jaffarabad district, said if the prime minister
and the opposition leader were unhappy with the performance of the National
Accountability Bureau chairman, they should resign first as the NAB chief had been
appointed with their mutual consultation.

He also criticised the federal government over its failure to allocate adequate
resources for Balochistan in the federal budget.

Mr Jamali, who had served as prime minister from 2002 to 2004 during President retd
Gen Pervez Musharraf’s tenure, is presently associated with the PML-N.

During the session, lawmakers from the PPP, the PTI, the PML-Q, the Jamaat-i-Islami
and the Awami National Party decided not to submit cut motions on the budget,
against a tradition of opposition parties.

Reiterating the opposition parties’ stance, PTI MNA Dr Shireen Mazari said
presentation of a full year’s budget by a government which was completing its tenure
in a few weeks was unacceptable.

Dr Arif Alvi, another PTI leader, pointed out the quorum and the session was
adjourned till Thursday morning.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2018