Tribal people demand FATA’s merger with KP

• Protesters want representation in KP Assembly, ask govt to convene CCI meeting on matter
• ANP asks government to have mercy on tribal people, listen to public voices and abolish black laws

ISLAMABAD: People from the tribal areas along with the representatives of different political parties on Monday gathered in the D-Chowk roundabout near the Red Zone of the federal capital to demand the early merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and also calling on the government to abolish colonial-era laws.

Leaders of the Awami National Party, Pakistan People’s Party, Qaumi Watan Party, Jamaat-i-Islami and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf also joined the unexpectedly a big gathering in a high-security zone. The participants demanded representation in the Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and convening of a meeting of the Council of Common Interests on the matter.

The protesters are also seeking amendments to the Constitution to extend the jurisdiction of the superior courts to the tribal areas. They said that their protest would continue till President Mamnoon Hussain announce the merger of FATA into Pakhtunkhwa province.

ANP President Asfandyar Wali said that the decision to merge the tribal areas with Pakhtunkhwa has been made by the tribal people. He asked the federal government to have mercy and abolish the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR).

Jamiat Ulama-i-Islam-S (JUI-S) leader Samiul Haq said that some people in Islamabad do not believe that the tribal areas are part of Pakistan. Last week, announcements were made in all the tribal agencies to go to Islamabad to make their demands known.

PPP leader Syed Akhunzada Chattan said that the tribal people had no peace and their human rights were being violated. “There is havoc in FATA,” he said, demanding that the tribal areas be given basic rights, as the government was yet to announce a budget for the tribal region.

The tribal areas are still governed by a century-old legal code known as the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR). That includes the practice of collective punishment, allowing government authorities to hold entire clans responsible for the crimes of individuals.

The government has approved reforms abolishing the FCR and implementing national laws in the region but the changes are being delayed by political squabbles. “We are here to press the government to abolish the FCR law and extend the jurisdiction of courts to FATA,” said Mian Iftekhar Hussain, a former provincial minister.

“More than 90% of tribesmen also want to merge the tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said as up to 2,000 tribesmen shouted slogans such as “Go FCR Go,” and “We demand merger of FATA in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”.

Shahabuddin Khan, a tribal lawmaker from Bajaur district, said they would continue pressuring the government until the FCR was abolished and the tribal areas were fully incorporated into the rest of Pakistan. The seven FATA districts – Bajaur, Khyber, Kurram, Mohmand, North Waziristan, Orakzai and South Waziristan – are home to some five million residents, mainly ethnic Pashtuns.

Demands for the merger have been gaining momentum since Aug 2016 when a six-member committee headed by then prime minister’s adviser Sartaj Aziz had tabled a report before the cabinet that recommended major reforms, including the merger of the areas with the Pakhtunkhwa province.

The report had generated controversy when two allies of the federal government – the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F) and the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) – opposed the committee report. On Sunday, JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman said that the FATA-Pakhtunkhwa merger issue was being used by certain elements for political gains.