‘No more black laws’: Imran wants FATA merged into K-P

Says he’s willing to discuss the suggestion with tribesmen

NOWSHERA:

Imran Khan has suggested that the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) be amalgamated into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

“It’s about time that we scrap the black laws in Fata that we’ve inherited from the British rulers,” the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman told the media in Nowshera on Thursday.

However, while he personally favours a merger of Fata and K-P, Imran said he was willing to discuss the suggestion with the tribesmen because it was regarding their future.



The party chief and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi were in Manki Sharif to offer their condolences to K-P Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak and other members of the family over the death of Latif Khattak, who was the CM’s first cousin and MNA Imran Khattak’s father.

On the subject of former provincial minister Ziaullah Afridi, Imran said: “CM Khattak was neither involved in his arrest nor in his ousting from the party. Afridi was arrested by the Ehtesab Commission. I’d favoured giving him the chance to defend himself but he continued levelling allegations.” The PTI chief said that the Ehtesab Commission is an independent body and so the party had decided against interfering in its affairs.

He said the campaign against corruption would continue. “Whoever is involved in corruption, malpractice and misuse of power will be questioned.” All those found guilty of corruption shall pay for it, he added.



In response to a question, Imran reiterated the PTI’s stance of disciplinary action against all those who had violated party discipline on the eve of the local government elections. “Some of them have already been served with notices.” Besides them, 57 newly-elected representatives who have violated party discipline are also on the list and shall face action, he added. “A committee headed by Qureshi is working on the issue.”

Replying to another query, the PTI chairman rejected all allegations against the K-P police and reminded the journalists that “the chief justice of Pakistan appreciates the performance of the police force”. The K-P police force is non-political and independent, he added.

Imran is also satisfied with how the LG polls were conducted. “They were according to the PTI’s commitment of transferring power at the local level.” He hoped for positive performance of the newly-elected LG institutions.

Regarding the result of Tuesday’s by-election for K-P Assembly’s seat PK-93 – in which the PTI had backed Jamaat-e-Islami’s Muhammad Azam, who was defeated by Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sahibzada Sanaullah, who was backed by other opposition parties – Imran said: “[JI chief] Sirajul Haq should be approached in this respect.”

He also criticised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for announcing the Rs341 billion bailout package for farmers, and termed it ‘pre-poll rigging’. The recent decisions of re-polling for three National Assembly seats in Punjab has led to wide-ranging confusion and unrest among the ranks of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, he added.


Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2015.