Constitutional amendment: Political reforms sought for FATA

Amendment will provide equal rights to citizens of Fata; shift legislative powers from president to parliament.

ISLAMABAD: The Political Parties Joint Committee on Fata Reforms recommended that local bodies’ elections be held in FATA region along with the rest of the country. In a meeting with Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch, the committee also suggested that a constitutional amendment be proposed to change Article 247 of the constitution. The amendment should be done to provide equal rights to citizens of Fata and shift legislative powers from the president to parliament, the committee said. The 11 political parties, namely ANP, JI, JUI-F, MQM, NP, PkMAP, PML, PML-N, PPP, PTI and QWP, presented new consensus recommendations for further reforms in the tribal areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2013.