PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali Khan on Saturday congratulated all tribesmen, including members of National Assembly (MNAs) and the youth belonging to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), over the passage of FATA reforms bill by the National Assembly (NA), terming it as the first step towards the merger of the tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In a statement issued here Saturday, the ANP chief also expressed hope that in the coming days FATA would become a part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that since the last 70 years, a black law was enforced in FATA and had made the lives of the tribal population miserable. He also said that the people of FATA were the main victims of the Afghan war and had suffered the negative repercussions of the war firsthand.
Asfandyar further said that the extension of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and Peshawar High Court to the tribal areas was the first step towards ending the sense of deprivation among the people of FATA. He also vowed to continue their struggle till the achievement of the goal seeking complete integration of the tribal areas into the province.
He also called for making arrangements to provide FATA with its share of funds in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. He said that ANP had always struggled for the unity of Pakhtuns and would stand by them in their fight for their rights in the future too.
