Govt plans to merge Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to merge Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The required legislation for the process would be carried out after approval from the federal cabinet, according to media reports.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will inform the ministers of the decision of merging Fata with KP in the upcoming federal cabinet meeting. After approval for this merger, the Law Ministry would be asked to prepare the draft of the bill that would be presented in parliament for approval.

According to media reports, the prime minister has finally taken the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and other allies into confidence over the merger since the parties were initially opposing this move on various political grounds.

Under the plan, Fata would be put under the control of the provincial government through amendments to the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). An annual grant of Rs100 billion has also been proposed for Fata’s development under the proposed merger and the amount will be given from the Federal Divisible Pool.

Fata is being governed by the British-era law called FCR Act that legal experts say is a violation of universal human rights and contradicts the 1973 Constitution. The merger of Fata with KP would extend the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the high court to the tribal areas by amending the Article 247 and other relevant laws, so that those who want to protect their fundamental rights can do so like any other citizen of Pakistan.

Almost all the political parties support the demand of merger of Fata with KP, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).