Political consensus: Hurry on with Fata reforms, MPs tell govt

Say task should be carried out before the 2018 polls

ISLAMABAD: The government was advised on Friday to implement the Fata reforms as soon as possible in a bid to thwart the ‘elements’ who oppose the plan.

When Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz introduced a report of the principles committee in the National Assembly, lawmakers from Fata, ANP, QWP-Sherpao and PPP advised the government to not waste time in implementing the reforms.

“Don’t delay the implementation for five or ten years, because there are some elements who do not what these [reforms] to happen,” said Ghulam Ahmed Bilour of the ANP. He did not elaborate.

He asked the government to take credit for doing the much-delayed job of merging Fata with the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Bilour went on to suggest the government complete the task before the next general elections so that the people of Fata could have representation in assemblies.



Naveed Qamar of the PPP acknowledged the government’s efforts and support of political parties [in compiling the report], saying that it would help the people of Fata to have rights like other Pakistanis.

He cautioned the government against prolonging the transition period, saying building a political consensus over any issue was an uphill task and it should not be wasted.

Qamar said that financial matters should be discussed in the Council of Common Interests [CCI], otherwise the government’s decision would be considered unilateral.

Aftab Sherpao said that some issues still remained to be decided, including allocation of seats in the National Assembly and the provincial assembly. “But for this, you need to have a census,” he added.

“The transition period should be as small as possible,” he added.

Sahibzada Tariqullah of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) congratulated the government and said 99 per cent of Fata’s residents wanted the region’s merger with the K-P. “A notification should be issued at the earliest,” he added.

Earlier, Shah Jee Gul Afridi from the Fata almost killed PTI’s protest in the assembly when he stood up and asked party members to sit down and let Sartaj Aziz table the report. PTI members were demanding a point of order on the Panama Leaks keeping in view the presence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Afridi said that although the people in Fata were less educated, but they had never torched the country’s flag nor raised anti-Pakistan slogans in the past 70 years.

He also urged the prime minister to visit the tribal areas and make the announcement.

Safron Minister Lt-Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch briefed the MPs about the entire process the reforms committee had gone through.

According to him, Fata should be allocated three per cent from the divisible pool which would ultimately amount to Rs100 billion.

Baloch said that the government had proposed a 10-year programme for completing the entire process.

Meanwhile, Jahangir Khan Tareen clarified his position and said that he never received a show-cause notice from the SECP — the basis of the speaker’s decision on a reference seeking his disqualification.

Tareen said that Chaudhry Sugar Mills owned by the ruling Sharif family had been shifted to Rahim Yar Khan in violation of the rules and a stay order had been obtained from the Lahore High Court in this regard. “The PM is disregarding the court’s order,” he said.

Later, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui of the MQM said that tall claims about peace in Karachi were unreal, because there could be no peace without justice. He said more than 100 MQM workers were missing and announced his party’s walkout over the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2016.