A file photo of a map of FATA. PHOTO: File
The demand was put forward during a consultative meeting at Jamrud Press Club on Tuesday in a bid to go ahead with the integration of the tribal belt with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The meeting was attended by leaders of various political parties. Participants discussed plans to devise a strategy to repeal the FCR and merge FATA with K-P.
FATA Reforms Committee
The FATA Reforms Committee, headed by Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, has been visiting various agencies to obtain feedback on the reforms bill. If the bill is passed, it will, in all probability, rid the region of the Frontier Crimes Regulation.
At the press club, attendees raised concerns over the composition of the reforms committee, saying it only comprised government officials and does not include actual representatives.
According to one of the speakers, the committee appears to be one-sided and operates on similar principles as the British rulers who imposed the FCR on the tribal belt. He added the tribespeople will oppose this attitude at all costs.
The FATA Political Alliance said if they do not gain equal representation in the FATA Reforms Committee, they will oppose its decisions.
Last week, members of the alliance rejected the reforms committee that is to provide recommendations on the fate of the tribal belt. PPP FATA president and former MNA from Bajaur Akhunzada Chattan said the committee is only meeting influential people and is not accounting for the needs of the people.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2016.
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