MOHMAND AGENCY: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Sirajul Haq on Wednesday demanded an end to the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) and the merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), saying that that FCR is a British era draconian law and the state should instead create jirgas to address grievances of tribesmen.
Addressing a public meeting at Mohmand Agency, the JI leader stated that if the federal government fails to grant lawful rights to the people of FATA, the tribal people would be forced to lay a siege around Islamabad and the provincial capital Peshawar.
Siraj stated,”People of FATA should be respected at the checkposts instead of being humiliated as tribal people have fought in Kashmir in the past and have freed Kashmir from various attackers, and whenever Pakistan needed them, they will fight for Pakistan against the enemy.”
He also said that rulers have divided the country geographically for their own business and demanded that CNIC’s of tribal people be unblocked.
He also said that missing persons should be brought before the court instead of being kept in extrajudicial detention. He demanded the opening of cellular networks in the agency, adding that if these were not opened within a month the JI will start a protest movement in the agency.
JI, earlier in December last year had also announced to stage a sit-in in Faizabad area followed by another sit-in at D-Chowk to press the government to expedite the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Voicing reservations about the recent national census, JI called for a review of the statistics pertaining to the tribal areas.
Apart from the JI, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP) and other political parties have also backed the merger of FATA with KP.
