ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi failed to convince government allies on Monday pertaining to timeline promulgated by the military and civil leadership for mainstreaming tribal areas and merging Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), reported a local media outlet.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) President Mehmood Khan Achakzai opposed the move and asked the government to not be “hasty in the matter”.
PM Abbasi decided to hold another round of talks with the government’s allies on Thursday, according to reports.
The prime minister had called the meeting of parliamentary heads, which was also attended by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, to take them into confidence on the decisions taken by the National Implementation Committee on Fata Reforms (NICFR) on May 2.
The incumbent PM had informed members of the National Assembly earlier that
PM Abbasi had earlier informed members of the National Assembly that the National Implementation Committee on Fata Reforms (NICFR) had finalised a “timeline” for the FATA merger and the army chief was also present in the NICFR meeting.
Abbassi added that local government elections in FATA would be conducted before October and the Agency Development Fund had alreayd been abolished.
Those present at the meeting included Syed Khursheed Shah, Aftab Sherpao, Farooq Sattar, Sahibzada Tariqullah, Sartaj Aziz, Tariq Bashir Cheema, Akram Durrani, Naveed Qamar, Maulana Atta-ur-Rehman and Ghulam Ahmed Bilour.