Proposed 22nd amendment : ‘FATA committee nothing more than delaying tactic’

Political party alliance president says true reform not part of agenda

SHABQADAR/ MARDAN: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s notification of a committee for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas has been greeted with a mixed response. While some elders welcomed the move, political leaders felt it was nothing more than a tactic employed by the premiere to delay the proposed 22nd amendment to the Constitution.

The FATA Reforms Bill is likely to be presented in the current session of the National Assembly.

Pakistan Peoples Party Central Executive Committee member and FATA Political Parties Alliance President Akhunzada Chitan rejected the notification and said the committee was another way to buy more time and not introduce reforms to the tribal areas. He threatened the alliance would hold a rally for tribespeople’s rights on November 16 at D-Chowk in Islamabad. Chitan said the group would also hold a sit-in outside the Parliament in Islamabad.

None of the members of the committee notified by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are from Fata. According to Chitan, all members selected for the committee were irrelevant.

He demanded representation of all stakeholders including lawmakers, elders, think tank leaders, journalists, lawyers and political party leaders from Fata. The PPP leader said his party already presented a bill in both houses of parliament to seek the abolishment of Article 247 and the Frontier Crimes Regulation.

Awami National Party Central Finance Secretary Arbab Muhammad Tahir also rejected the notification and said the government must avoid further experimentation.

He demanded the tribal belt be brought into the mainstream by merging it with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa through a potential 22nd constitutional amendment. He said, “The problems of the region are better understood by tribespeople and not those sitting in Islamabad or Hazara.”

Tahir added it was indeed unfortunate that K-P Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan was not from the tribal belt and neither were other members of the committee. He questioned the ability of such people to suggest reforms for Fata.

Inside out

Although political parties in the tribal region and K-P rejected the committee, Fata representative in the National Assembly, Shah Jee Gul Afridi, welcomed the move. He said he was aware of reservations held by political forces, but said the government had assured it will work with Fata lawmakers and consult all stakeholders. He said the amendment had been tabled in the National Assembly and was part of the agenda in the current session. Shah Jee Gul promised there would be a stiff resistance if Fata lawmakers were ignored by the committee.

Former federal minister and tribal elder Hamidullah Jan Afridi welcomed the formation of the committee. He had recently raised his voice against the 22nd Constitutional Amendment Bill. Hamidullah said he wrote a letter to the committee which would soon hold a meeting with tribal elders.

He added the committee must work swiftly and consult stakeholders residing in Fata. The former minister suggested the committee visit the entire tribal belt and talk to people about proposed reforms.

‘No more delays’

Senior Minister for Home and Tribal Affairs Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao urged the federal government to seriously consider merging Fata with K-P without further delay.

He issued this statement while speaking to journalists at a news conference on Monday at Mardan Press Club. Sherpao said the time was ripe to integrate the two regions and asked tribal leaders as well as political party representatives to reach a consensus over the matter.

He also talked about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, saying the project was very important for not just the two countries, but the whole of Central and South East Asia.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2015.