Credit of FATA reforms bill is solely PML-N’s: SAFRON minister

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ISLAMABAD: Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lt Gen (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch on Thursday said that only Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) took the lead to introduce reforms in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), adding no other party had bothered to take the initiative for the last 70 years.

Responding to a point of order in the National Assembly, he said that the issue about FATA Reforms Bill will be solved amicably by taking all political parties on board. “A meeting with be held with Prime Minister on Friday to discuss the reforms bill, and I am confident that the issue would be solved amicably,” he added.

“There are no hurdles to table the bill in the National Assembly; the committee had given 25 recommendations and the bill had been withdrawn due to [some] technical reasons,” he added.

He said that the dropping of the bill off the agenda did not mean that the government was not interested in bringing reforms in the region; in fact, it was determined to table the bill after evolving consensus over the matter.

“We will not allow any party to take the credit for FATA Reforms Bill; the whole credit goes to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N),” he asserted.