Fata reforms panel turned into federal cabinet committee

Implementation committee will hold its first meeting in Peshawar

ISLAMABAD: The government has already accepted the two main demands put forth by the Fata Reforms Committee, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said on Friday.

The adviser, who is also chairperson of the Fata reforms committee, informed that the federal cabinet, in its March 2 meeting, had reconstituted the Fata Reforms Committee into a cabinet-level implementation committee, according to statement issued by the Foreign Office.

The statement, quoting Aziz, said the inclusion of K-P chief minister, provincial chief secretary and corps commander XI Corps in the committee had also been approved in the same assembly.

The newly-formed committee will hold its first meeting in Peshawar soon, taking into account the views and proposals of the K-P government in coming up with an implementation plan for the reforms, the communique added.

The Cabinet on March 2 had approved the committee’s recommendations, which included the merger of the tribal areas with K-P and the repeal of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR).