Fata reforms: Tribal MPs weighing several options to pressure govt

Claim support of major opposition parties with presence in parliament

ISLAMABAD: Claiming support of major opposition parties with presence in parliament, lawmakers from the Federal Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) said on Saturday they were considering several options to persuade the government to reinitiate the process of implementing the shelved Fata reforms.

“We have support of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami, Awami National Party and Qaumi Watan Party for the cause of Fata reforms,” said MNA Shah Jee Gul Afridi while addressing a seminar on Fata at the National Press Club.

Afridi, who is the parliamentary leader of Fata lawmakers in the National Assembly, hails from Khyber Agency and has been on the forefront for implementation of Fata reforms.



“We are considering every option for achievement of our goals. These options include marching to Islamabad along with tribal people and staying there until our demands are met,” he said.

The government on May 15 convened a session of the National Assembly particularly for discussing two important legislations – a constitutional amendment to create seats for Fata in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly and Rewaj Bill to establish a new judicial system in the tribal region.

However, on May 17 Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch told the Fata lawmakers that the government could not go ahead with the legislation in parliament.



The development took place following a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who has been against the merger of Fata with K-P.

The last-minute disruption in the reforms process disappointed Fata lawmakers and since then they are planning various strategies taking along parliamentarians from the opposition parties.

Afridi said had also written to the Prime Minister on Friday requesting him to advise the President of Pakistan to exercise his legislative competence under Article 247(5) of the Constitution and issue order to extend the approved Fata reforms to the tribal areas ‘for peace and good governance’. “Other Fata lawmakers are also in contact with each other to devise a future strategy,” he added.



Shahbuddin Khan, a PML-N MNA belonging to Bajaur Agency, told The Express Tribune that they were weighing several options to push their demands forward. However, he refused to share details.

Another Fata lawmaker said the opposition was also considering boycotting the annual speech of the president before a joint session, as a first option. “This would cause embarrassment to the government,” he said.

Afridi said the Safron minister had told them that “the ‘establishment’ did not want going ahead with reforms in tribal areas.” However, PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar rebutted the claim and said that the recent statement issued after a military huddle gave an opposite impression.



“It seems the military wants the reforms to be implemented as vowed by them in the meeting”, he said, adding it also pointed to the intentions of those not willing for the reforms.

When The Express Tribune asked Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah about plans regarding Fata reforms, he replied: “The government has deceived the nation and the people of Fata, and we will go to any extent to hold the government accountable for this.”

Safron Secretary Arshad Mirza declined there were ‘bottlenecks’ in the implementation of reforms and said all would go well. He said he had held two meetings last week with Adviser to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, who headed the six-member committee that finalised Fata reforms proposals.