Mohmand JUIF rejects mines bill

GHALLANAI: Local leaders of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) on Monday rejected the proposed Mines and Minerals Bill and termed it an economic murder of people of terror-ravaged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Speaking at a press conference, JUIF local leaders, including Maulana Arif Haqqani, Maulana Hanif-uz-Zaman, Maulana Gulab Noor, Arshad Bakhtiar, Maulana Samiullah, Irshad Safi, Malik Noorajan and others alleged that the federal government had pushed the controversial Mines and Minerals Bill in KP Assembly for approval, but it would be resisted tooth and nail.

“The proposed minerals bill is equivalent to snatching the livelihood from the tribal population,” Maulana Arif Haqqani said, adding that the local population had the first right over the natural resources of their land.

He said that the bill was in contradiction to the 18th Amendment and provincial autonomy.The JUIF leaders also criticised what they called a foolish condition by some party leaders to link the passage of this controversial bill with the release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan and termed it a betrayal of the public trust.

They demanded that the provincial government respect the mandate given by the people to protect their rights. The speakers said the merged districts were already devastated by terrorism, but they were now being dragged into a new economic war.

Reaffirming the decisions of the central and provincial leadership of JUIF, they rejected the bill and labelled the Council of Common Interests (CCI) as a threat to provincial autonomy and civil rights.They vowed to follow the directives of JUIF central chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and fight for the rights of the people.