JUI-F’s self-serving stance may derail FATA reforms
Just as it seemed that months of tedious deliberations on FATA’S merger with KP were about to bear fruit through introduction of two legislative bills in the National Assembly, the ruling PML-N’s loyal ally, Fazl-ur-Rehman assumed an isolated and unpopular posture against the much anticipated measure that threatens to delay and push it to the periphery. Time was of the essence here, but the (complicit?) government took up the task rather late in the day. It called a five day session to settle the matter, but the Maulana’s intransigence, at times intimidating and vindictive, put the brakes on the whole exercise. From May 26 onwards, the lower house would be immersed in the rigours and accompanying drama of the federal budget presentation and its aftermath. The All FATA Political Parties Alliance has threatened to march on Islamabad if the implementation of FATA reforms is delayed beyond May 20.The government has apparently pushed itself into its usual tight corner, and with the PM away on an extended foreign tour, the chances of resolving the tangle in time appear slim.
Two Bills were introduced on Monday, a constitutional amendment bill for declaring FATA a part of KP and the Tribal Areas Rewaj Bill 2017, whose exact content is unknown, but which has been roundly condemned for setting up a parallel judicial system in FATA. One valid reason for this suspicion is that the third Bill, whereby the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and Peshawar High Court was to be extended to FATA, was inexplicably not moved in the House. Despite a rare unanimity among all political parties and above all, the majority of the tribal population of over 4.4 million, the JUI-F has become the stubborn lone ranger standing in the way of the widely demanded FATA-KP merger, insisting on a referendum to gauge the wishes of the people! Possibly, personal electoral and mercenary motives prevailed over the wider national interests. But the black law of the Frontier Crimes Regulation must go, unconditionally and immediately.
