Not impressed: FATA lawmakers to boycott Mehtab Ahmad Khan

Say governor, FATA Secretariat prevented them from meeting President.

JAMRUD: Parliamentarians from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas have decided to boycott all meetings and functions that will have Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan in attendance.

The decision, taken during a jirga of senators and MNAs on Sunday, was made in light of what they called the “governor and FATA Secretariat’s role in preventing President Mamnoon Hussain from meeting tribal elders during a reception put together by elder Shah Jee Gul Afridi.”

MNAs Shahabuddin, Nazir Khan, Ghalib Khan, Qaisar Jamal Afridi, Jamaluddin and all eight senators were present on the occasion.

They discussed Hussain’s recent visit to Khyber Agency in connection with the inauguration of the Pak-Afghan Highway.

Announcing the boycott, they maintained that the tribal representatives had a lot of hopes with the President’s visit but the governor and FATA Secretariat created hurdles for them. “I met the President and he assured me of visiting my hujra but Mehtab and the secretariat did not let it happen,”
said Afridi.

Through a resolution, the tribal leaders said certain elements do not want the government to resolve genuine issues faced by displaced families and improve the region’s overall law and order situation. They also urged the government to consult Fata lawmakers before reforming the Frontier Crimes Regulation and taking other administrative decisions.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st, 2015.