Tribal reforms: Give constitutional rights to FATA people first: Fazl

JUI-F chief also demands holding a referendum, census in tribal areas

PESHAWAR: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday asked the government “to grant the people of Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) their constitutional rights before deciding their future”.

He also called for holding a referendum on the reforms prepared by the Fata Reforms Committee.

The JUI-F chief also clarified that he opposed the reforms after holding threadbare discussions with party colleagues while keeping in view the interests of the people of Fata.

“A jirga should be convened having representations from all political parties as well as from each agency of Fata to discuss the future course of action to be taken in Fata,” the JUI-F chief told a press conference.

“The Fata Reforms Committee laid stress on merging Fata with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa while we are of the view that tribal people should be given their fundamental rights first,” he said.

Fazl said his party has decided the government would be forced to grant tribal people their due rights and their future would be decided in accordance with their will.

“Even Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had thrown his weight behind our demands and supported our point of view,” he stated. The JUI-F chief said his party never wanted to create problems in the reforms process; rather, it has been waging a struggle to solve them amicably through dialogue.

Fazl also demanded holding of census in Fata without delay and added that a development package should be announced for the area.

The JUI-F chief also criticised K-P Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak for accusing the federal government of reneging on its promises made with him on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He said that chief ministers who were present in a meeting with the prime minister and federal ministers accepted the details they were shared with. He added that none of them from the very start raised any objection. “Why did he (CM Khattak) not raise such objections in the meetings with the prime minister?” he asked.

“Why did no one make a noise when the Indus Highway was diverted to Karak, thus preventing Bannu and DI Khan from becoming a business hub?”

He said to enable the people of Lakki Marwat to access Quetta easily a road would be constructed via Darra Tang while another road would connect Karak and Kohat with Bannu. “In addition, the federal government has planned to construct a road to give direct access to the people of Bannu and DI Khan to Afghanistan via Miramshah,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2016.