Extension of Political Parties Act: Call for tailoured implementation in the tribal region

Speakers hail act, say grievances need to be addressed.

ISLAMABAD:

Extension of the Political Parties Act (PPA) to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) will pave way for political and economic empowerment of the tribal people, experts said at a seminar on Wednesday. However, they underscored that the act needs to be implemented while addressing the people’s grievances and taking all stakeholders into confidence.

The speakers stated this at a seminar titled, “Extension of Political Parties Act to Fata” organised by the Fata Research Centre. Senator Rahat Hussain of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), Senior Vice President PML-Q Ajmal Khan Wazir, human rights activist and Muttahida Qabail Party (MQP) President Habib Khan Orakzai and Khan Marjan of Fata Grand Alliance were  key speakers at the seminar, which was attended by journalists, civil society activists and foreign diplomats.

Senator Rahat Hussain said it has been a long-standing demand of the tribal people to take part in the political process and play their role in socio-economic development of the country. However, he criticised some amendments in the PPA, through which, he claimed the government wanted to give military the power to run affairs in the tribal region. He urged the government to address these anomalies before initiating a political process.

He also opposed the merger of tribal areas into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa saying any such move would be tantamount to depriving the people of their identity.

Senior PML-Q leader Ajmal Wazir termed the act a “mockery” saying it is being extended to the tribal region without considering the ground realities. He said no one can guarantee security of public gatherings in Fata. Wazir added that the top political leadership of the country was not sincere with the tribal people.

The MQP president termed the extension of the act a great achievement for people in tribal areas, adding that they have succeeded in obtaining the right to hold political activities after 60 years of struggle. “It is the right step in the right direction.” He said the government should give the people the right to form local bodies and immediately start the process for local body elections so that people can get involved in the political process and electioneering.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2012.