Fata reforms: Govt suffers setback as allies refuse to budge

Huddle on reforms implementation remains inconclusive

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has announced that reforms for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) will be enforced by end of May. However, the government on Monday faced a serious setback as it failed to convince its two key allies to end their opposition to the reforms.

On May 2, the prime minister announced in the National Assembly that Fata reforms would be implemented in the remaining tenure of the current government in next four weeks.



However, a meeting of the Fata implementation committee with the parliamentary leaders held in the PM’s chamber at the Parliament House turned out to be an embarrassment for the government, which is racing against the clock to take credit for reforms package.

On Monday, Fata Reforms Committee Chairman Sartaj Aziz briefed parliamentarians about the reforms plan and said a bill would be tabled in the ongoing session of the National Assembly about amendments including Article 247 in which president is empowered to issue regulations about Fata.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), however, refused to budge from their longstanding demand to hold referendum in Fata on the call for its merger with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) in order seek consent of tribesmen.

One of the sources in the committee said the JUI-F told the members that the government had signed an agreement that the status of Fata would not be changed for five years.

Aziz rejected the claim and said the agreement did not exist after the JUI-F held a political congregation on Fata reforms in K-P.

The JUI-F parliamentary chief told The Express Tribune that both the government allies had been against the Fata package since day one. “Now the next meeting has been called on May 10 and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq and JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman will attend it,” he said.

Talking to media outside the chamber, JUI-F lawmaker Akram Khan Durrani said the government was in a hurry and making the decision under pressure. When asked what pressure he was referring to, he said those under pressure should be asked about it.

He warned that “hasty decisions always lead to exacerbation of problems”. He added, “I am directed [by the party leadership] to have an inflexible stance.”

Talking about internal differences in the newly-formed Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) of which the JUI-F is a part, Durrani said they had an understanding that Fata reforms would not be a bone of contention among the member parties.



According to him, Rs1,000 billion for Fata development is still an issue and provinces are not ready to share 3% from their cake. He said his party demanded that people of Fata should be asked if they wanted to merge with K-P, be it through referendum or any other way. “Please respect them,” he said.

PTI’s Vice Chairperson Shah Mahmood Qureshi said his party and the JI were on the same page on the issue and had given their verdict about Fata openly. “Other parties also endorse our stance but two allies of the government oppose the reforms,” he said

He suggested that the government should persuade its allies. He said within the MMA, there was a difference of view on Fata reforms as the JI was in favour of the merger while the JUI-F opposed it. He called it the government’s ‘efficiency’ to be implementing Fata reforms just 20 days before the end of its term.