Recognising heroes: Grand Fata alliance wants the highest award for SP Dawar

Tribal elders call for ‘u-turn’ on FATA merger plan

PESHAWAR: A grand alliance of tribes and political groups from the tribal areas have urged the federal government to recognize the contributions of slain police officer SP Tahir Dawar by awarding him the highest government award.

They have also called on the government to revisit its plan to merge the tribal areas with the settled areas.

This was decided in a meeting of the All Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) Grand Alliance the other day. The alliance meeting was attended by notables and elders from the seven districts of erstwhile Fata areas. It included Malik Marjan from Waziristan, Syed Mohmand, Nasrullah, Malik Waris Khan, Malik Bazz Khan, and Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Mufti Abdur Shakoor amongst others.

The alliance noted that if Prime Minister Imran Khan could take U-turns on other issues, then why could he not take one on the Fata merger plan. They added that the plan had been implemented in haste and that this error by the civil establishment could be undone. They then passed a joint resolution on the matter.

They added that until their demands are accepted, the impending visit of PM Imran would be just a waste of time and resources. The federal government should arrange a referendum over the merger of Fata areas to determine the actual sentiments of the tribal area’s residents.

“We never accept the digitalization of records, nor did we accept the patwari or the police system in Fata, we want all issues to be resolved as per tribal customs while the political administration should be reemployed along with slight changes,” noted Malik Sahi Marjan. He added that they have asked the federal government to allocate funds for improving health, education and other sectors to revive the militancy-hit districts.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2018.