JUIF lone party averse to Fata merger, says ex-minister

LANDIKOTAL: Former federal minister and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) candidate for National Assembly from Khyber district Hameedullah Jan Afridi said on Thursday that the JUIF was the lone political party that opposed the Fata-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa merger, which he termed a foreign agenda aimed at dismantling tribal culture.

JUIF leaders Hameedullah Jan Afridi and Sheikhul Hadith Tehseenullah, flanked by Mufti Ejaz, Maulana Mujahid Shinwari and JUIF Khyber spokesman Qari Jehad Shah Afridi, said that in the year 2018, the merger was imposed on the tribal people through an oppressive and unlawful method, without taking into confidence around 15 million tribal folks.

Jan said that although Pakistan’s Constitution clearly stated that no decision would be imposed on citizens without their consultation, the tribal people were deprived of six National Assembly seats and representation in the Senate.

He said special quotas for tribal students in medical colleges and engineering universities were abolished. He said that the tribal people had been promised Rs100 billion through the National Finance Commission (NFC) every year but the promise remained unfulfilled in the past five years. He said tribals were deprived of all basic rights including water and electricity.

He said the delay in issuance of postal ballots by the Election Commission might deprive the government servants of their voting rights, demanding action against the officials responsible.The JUIF leader said authorities must ensure in decision-making the inclusion of tribals, who had rendered sacrifices for the country.