Addressing a press conference here, the party founder Habib Malik Orakzai asked the federal government to declare the tribal areas as the fifth province of Pakistan.
“The MQP consists of leaders of almost all tribes and the dialogue for peace is the main cause for all our party members,” he said.
He said the people of Fata would be able to get their fundamental rights under Article 184 of the Constitution of Pakistan if they were declared a province. The constitution gives the right to elected legislators to bring reformations in the laws of Fata so that people could get equal opportunities, the party founder said.
“The MQP has decided to stand united against terrorists, who never wanted peace in the area nor remained loyal to this state,” he said.
Orakzai felt that the various tribes in the region would help the government in setting up a proper administrative system. “We are anxiously waiting for a reply from the federal government,” he added.
He spoke about the ‘black laws’ imposed on the tribal areas by the British that are still hanging like ‘swords on their heads’. He was keen that the local bodies system be introduced in the tribal areas so that development work could be monitored by the elected councillors of that area. “We also want to reorganise the jirga system because it reflects the customs and traditions of the people of tribes,” he said. Orakzai then talked about the Constitutional Package for Fata announced by the President Asif Ali Zardari. He urged the federation to actually implement the package.
The party said that this would help the people who are victims of militancy in the area.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2010.
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