JI activists poised to march towards Islamabad

Protesters demand the immediate merger of the tribal areas with the rest of the country

PESHAWAR: Protesters demanding the immediate merger of the tribal areas with the rest of the country, led by Jamat-e-Islami (JI), have gathered in the Khyber Agency and are planning a march on to the capital.

The protesters aim to stage a sit-in in the federal capital to force the government into acquiescing to their demands.

The JI had announced a sit-in and had called upon its party workers and supporters to gather at Bab-e-Khyber in Jamrud, Khyber Agency. The protest is being led by JI’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Ameer Mushtaq Ahmad Khan along with JI’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) Ameer Sardar Khan.

According to the protest’s organisers, both leaders are among the protesters and intend to begin their march towards the federal capital on Monday (today). During his address to the gathering on Sunday, Mushtaq accused the government of deliberately delaying Fata’s merger with K-P, adding that they will no longer tolerate any delaying tactics.

He explained that their sit-in was being held only to compel the government into announcing Fata’s merger with K-P.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2017.