JI-led long-march for FATA merger reaches Islamabad amid high-alert

Protesters plan to stage a sit-in at D-Chowk to force PML-N-led government expedite FATA reforms process

ISLAMABAD: Supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) held a sit-in at China Chowk on Tuesday after marching on the capital from Khyber Agency to press the government for immediate merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Khursheed Shah also visited the venue of the sit-in to express his support to the demand of the marchers. He said it was unfortunate that patriotic Pakistanis from Fata had to march to Islamabad in their struggle. He said the PPP had a clear stance that Fata must be merged with K-P but the government was afraid to do so.



“At a time when countries all over the world are facing campaigns for secession, people of Fata want to join the mainstream Pakistani political system, but unfortunately the government is blocking the move,” he said.

Earlier, the protesters, who had left Bab-e-Khyber on Monday, gathered at Faizabad Interchange after camping overnight near Rawalpindi’s Murree Road.

Addressing the protesters, JI chief Sirajul Haq said the aim of the long march was abolition of the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR). He said the tribal people had no basic rights under the FCR.

“The people of tribal areas want the FCR abolished. They have stood up and raised their voice against injustice,” he said, adding that all political parties should support them. “We want oppression and injustice to end.”

K-P Jamaat-e-Islami chief Mushtaq Ahmed Khan said the population of Fata had not been correctly represented in this year’s census. He said people of the region were campaigning to become a permanent part of Pakistan, contrary to the prevailing trend across the world.

He said the parliament had overwhelmingly accepted the Fata reforms report submitted by Sartaj Aziz, but it was being shunned now. He said the denial by the government of Fata’s merger with K-P would promote extremism in the tribal region.

Earlier in the day, the National Assembly had plunged into chaos for the second day in a row after the government pulled the Fata reforms package off the agenda, leading to the adjournment of the crucial sitting of the assembly.

Grand Jirga demands immediate Fata merger

The entire opposition, including members of the treasury benches from Fata, protested against the move.

The government was supposed to table the bill for discussion on extending the Supreme Court and the Peshawar High Court’s jurisdiction over Fata.

The government cited unspecified 'technical reasons' for removing it from the  agenda. However, analysts believe that the ruling PML-N, already surrounded in crises, was avoiding resentments of its allies Mehmood Khan Achackzai of PkMAP and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who have been railing against the proposed amendments in Fata reforms.