Tree plantation drive: FATA merger key to progress, says Imran

LAKKI MARWAT: FATA’s merger into Khyber Pakhtunkhawa is the only way to usher in an era of development in the region, chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said during a tree plantation campaign in the Tortala area on Wednesday. According to him, FATA was hit hardest by militancy in areas near Afghanistan. He said that the people of FATA lived out their entire lives under draconian laws formulated under the British Raj, adding that this inhuman practice would end once the merger was complete. Terming the call for referendum on the issue out of context, Imran Khan criticised Maulana Fazlur Rehman for opposing FATA’s merger into the province, saying that his style of politics was archaic. “PTI’s stance has been clear since day one … We always supported FATA’s merger on all forums in the country and bringing tribesmen into national political mainstream,” he said. Urging the federal government to allocate proper resources for merger, he said that the local people should benefit from these changes.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2017.