A Christian community member in Ghallanai, headquarters of Mohmand Agency, told The Express Tribune that in previous elections Maulana Ghulam Sadiq of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) promised them a domicile for Fata but he did not fulfill his promise.
“MNA Bilal Rahman also forgot his promise after getting votes from Christians in the area,” he said.
About the role of the Mohmand Agency political administration on the issue, Anwar Maseeh said that they put forward the issue before every political agent appointed in the agency and after a great deal of effort, they were only guaranteed Fata identity cards.
“On the basis of the identity cards, we are now allowed legally to work at government departments in Mohmand Agency,” he added.
Children of parents having the domicile would be eligible to study in the agency on scholarship, said Boota Maseeh. Presently, Christians have to educate their children on self-finance basis.
An elder of the Christian community in Mohmand Agency, Jalal Maseeh, who has retired from government service, told The Express Tribune he served in the region for more than 30 years. “I have the agency’s ID card and it is our right to get Mohmand Agency’s domicile.”
A tribal elder said on condition of anonymity that domiciles can be given to those Christians whose forefathers have been living in the region.
“Anyone who wants to get a Fata domicile must be a permanent resident of this agency and should belong to a specific tribe living in the agency,” he said.
He said the eligibility for the domicile is that four tribal elders of the tribe concerned should sign the application for domicile and forward it to the political administration.
He said tribal elders can sort out the matter, but the political administration is reluctant to grant Fata domiciles to the Christian community who comprise around 200 families living in different sub-districts of the agency.
He said Mohmand is the only tribal region in Fata where Christians were granted the right to vote and issued national identity cards of the agency.
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