Tribesmen irked by delay in FATA reforms execution

SAFRON minister says govt wants to accommodate views of Fazl, Achakzai

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet’s decision to delay the enforcement of reforms in the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) has irked tribesmen.

The report, compiled by the Committee on FATA Reforms 2016, topped the 23-point agenda of the cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the chair on Thursday.



Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Abdul Qadir Baloch said at a news conference that Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and Mehmood Khan Achakzai’s Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) were pressing the government to accommodate the views of tribal ‘jirgas’.

“The Prime Minister wants to take everyone into confidence … We will also pay heed to the views of these two parties,” Baloch told the news conference on cabinet decisions.

Criticising the cabinet and accusing it of inaction, tribal elders said that the panel failed to approve the report despite the fact that there was extensive support for it.

“Most people in the tribal regions want early implementation of the reforms, but we do not know why they are being delayed,” Nisar Momand, the head of the FATA Siyasi Ittehad’ (Political Alliance) said.

“Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Mehmood Khan Achakzai are adopting anti-Pashtoon attitude and anti-tribal policies,” Momand said.

He said Wednesday’s resolution by the K-P Assembly favouring Fata’s merger with the province was a clear message that the people wanted the merger.

“The people of K-P and Fata want to unite … their opinion must be respected,” he said.



Shaukat Aziz, the president of the Fata Students Organisation, who was recently detained by the Peshawar administration for demanding abolition of FCR, also criticised the delay, saying people would perceive this as a move by certain elements obstructing reforms.

“We have serious reservations over the delay in (implementation of) reforms. Problems in Fata will aggravate if the reforms are delayed … Elements opposed to reforms may try to sabotage the move,” said Aziz, who was freed on Wednesday after a protest by students and political leaders from tribal areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2016.