FATA should be made part of K-P, says JI chief

Says without bringing the region into mainstream, Zarb-e-Azb will be incomplete

ISLAMABAD: The head of the Jamaat-e-Islami Sirajul Haq called upon the government on Saturday to merge the Federally Administered Tribal Areas into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in a bid to end the sense of deprivation that its people felt.



Following a meeting with Fata representatives, the JI chief said that there was consensus among all parties that Fata should be made a part of K-P and urged the government to take practical steps in this regard.

Haq claimed that peace had been restored in the region through Operation Zarb-e-Azb but the government also needed to address the problems faced by people living in the tribal areas. “There is a dire need to bring Fata into the mainstream otherwise Operation Zarb-e-Azb will be considered incomplete,” he added.

He maintained that the people in Fata were deprived and could be empowered by being given basic necessities including the establishment of schools, colleges, universities and hospitals. “If the government can build the Metro and Orange Lines by spending billions in Punjab then why does it seem reluctant to take such initiatives in Fata?” he questioned.



The JI chief stated that the people of Fata have been suffering since the beginning of the 19th century when the Frontier Crimes Regulations were imposed, turning its tribesmen into second-class citizens. “The government should call an all-parties conference, so that tribal agencies can be merged into K-P,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2016.