Imran Khan approaches SC to help merge FATA with K-P

Chairman PTI maintains in his petition that the provincial government is willing to make FATA a part of it

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has approached the Supreme Court, seeking directions for the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

In a petition filed with the apex court through his counsel Babar Awan on Wednesday, Khan maintained that even though the provincial government was willing to merge Fata with K-P, the federation had been delaying the move on one reason or the other.

The President of Pakistan, the Ministry of Law and Justice, the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions and the Fata secretariat have been made respondents.



“The Constitution of Pakistan in its preamble dictates that the principles of democracy, freedom, equality and social justice are strictly observed, while it also states that the entire country is entitled to its rights, including Fata,” states the PTI petition.

The President of Pakistan is the mandated authority for forming regulations bringing peace and good governance to Fata so that the area could be brought on a par with the rest of the country, according to the petition.

The President in consultation with relevant stakeholders also made a Fata reforms package and “the inaction on the respondents’ part to implement the package is offensive to the policy laid down in the constitution, while it also violates the fundamental rights of Pakistani citizens,” the petition states.

Through his petition, the PTI chief informed the court that the people and representatives of Fata also recently staged a sit-in so that the reform package was implemented but to no avail.

“The K-P government fulfilled all their constitutional requirements and consented to including Fata in the province, while also making necessary arrangements including the provincial assembly passing resolution number 848,” states the petition.



It adds, “It is surprising how all the respondents have backed off from the Fata merger due to political reasons that are violating the commitment.”

The petition goes on to say that the suffering of the people of Fata would only end after the merger of the tribal areas with K-P. “Hence filing a petition in the SC is the only option left,” it adds.

Khan, the petitioner, concludes by saying that keeping in mind Fata’s peculiar circumstances, it should be merged with K-P in the interest of justice, and “any other appropriate orders which may be deemed fit and proper for restoring the governance of rule of law may very kindly be passed”.

The federal government, in September 2017, managed to develop a consensus on the major points of reforms in Fata as lawmakers from the tribal regions agreed to the merger with K-P.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi recently told the lawmakers and stakeholders of Fata that except for Balochistan, no other province was ready to share their receipts from the National Finance Commission award, amounting to 3% of the divisible pool.