Lawmakers urged to conduct K-P assembly, local govt elections in tribal districts

Speakers at a consultation on FATA say the immediate release of funds key to the development of the region


Our Correspondent August 16, 2018
Tribal district. PHOTO: AFP

PESHAWAR: With newly-elected lawmakers taking oaths in the national and provincial assemblies in all four provinces, one former lawmaker has called on the newly elected government to immediately hold elections on provincial assembly seats and for the local government in the tribal districts.

Moreover, funds allocated for the development of the tribal areas must be transferred without any delays to foster peace in the region.

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This was stressed by former MNA and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) representative Shahabuddin Khan Salarzai during a consultative meeting on mainstreaming the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) — The Way Forward Post Merger with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). The meeting had been organised by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in Peshawar.

Salarzai said that the Rs100 billion allocated under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award for Fata will be critical in not only addressing the grievances of disgruntled tribal people but would also help make up for the sense of deprivation they have had for the past 70 years.

Moreover, he hoped that it would also foster socio-political and economic development in the militancy and natural disaster hit the region. He further hoped it would spur the economic growth of the area.

The allocation augurs well for better education and health facilities in the region, he said.

On the other hand, he was of the view that it was time that the tribal people also embraced the change, and adapt to the perspectives of the modern age.

“Tribal elders and chieftains should educate their children to help them compete with the counterparts; compatriots from other parts of the country,” Salarzai suggested.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentarians Sajid Momand and Iqbal Afridi said that their party will work to repeal the new Fata Interim Governance Regulation since it was completely at odds with the democratic ideals enshrined in the Constitution.

Recognizing the services and sacrifices of Khasadar forces for peace in former Fata areas, they suggested that instead of laying off the Khasadars, they should be merged into the levy force given how thousands of families rely on it for their economic sustenance apart from the employment opportunities offered by the force.

They called for fully extending and implementing the Constitution to the tribal areas in letter and spirit.

Senior journalist and analyst Dr Ashraf Ali said that both media and civil society should their role in bringing the tribal areas, its tribesmen and women at par with the rest of the country.

He added that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the PML-N had done their part in mainstreaming Fata and that now it was the PTI’s turn — as the party forming the government in the centre — to make its contributions for mainstreaming Fata and speedy development in the region.

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CRSS Executive Director Imtiaz Gul said that tribal youth needs opportunities for active and effective participation in the democratic processes and national socio-political life.

“There is a dire need for the delegation of powers to the democratic representatives of the tribal region, as an essential prerequisite for democratic development,” Gul said, adding, “The task ahead is to identify, articulate and amplify the strategies to bring Fata at par with other regions.”

He noted that while the prompt transfer of funds allocated under the NFC Award was important, the absorption capacity of these funds must also be one of the core considerations.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16th, 2018.

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