Address grievances of FATA residents: Sherpao

Govt should initiate uplift schemes in FATA, Sherpao says

PESHAWAR: Days after the Senate voted to extend the jurisdiction of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and the Supreme Court to the tribal belt, a prominent Pashtun leader on Sunday called on the government to do more to address the grievances of the tribal people.

This was stated by Qaumi Watan Party Chairman Aftab Ahmad Sherpao while addressing a public gathering in the Gujrat area of Mardan.

He said that the government should initiate uplift schemes in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) so as to tackle the uncertainty felt by the tribal people.

Sherpao reminded that the people of Fata had rendered meritorious sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. However, he lamented, these sacrifices have not been valued accordingly.

The QWP chairman lauded a statement from the Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa about removing check posts from the tribal belt and addressing the other core issues. He said that easing check posts and clearing landmines are among vital issues which should be tackled to restore peace and stability in the region.

The former federal interior minister Sherpao expressed satisfaction over the extension of the jurisdiction of superior courts to the Fata, noting that it would be helpful to alleviate the suffering of the people.

He reminded that his QWP had agitated for several years to merge Fata with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to bring the tribal belt into the mainstream. However, Sherpao lamented that it had been unnecessarily delayed. He demanded that the tribal areas should be brought into the mainstream and provided proper representation in the provincial assembly so that their problems could be overcome.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2018.