Alliance wants Fata merged into KP

PESHAWAR: Members of the Fata Political Alliance on Thursday warned of launching a countywide agitation if the government didn’t announce merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the Independence Day.

Speaking at a news conference here, the alliance president Iqbal Afridi said that merger of Fata into KP is a must to resolve issues of people of the tribal region. He said the committee was formed by the government about two years ago, and according to its report, around 71 percent people had favoured the merger of Fata into KP.

Flanked by ANP leader Nisar Mohmand, Ejaz Afridi, and representatives of other political parties, he demanded the abolition of the British-era Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) Act in the tribal region and called for amendments to the Constitution’s Article 247, observing that the article has deprived the Fata residents of fundamental human rights.

Iqbal Afridi said the tribesmen were deprived of all basic rights due to imposition of the FCR in Fata. He added that the reforms process was initiated by government through formation of a committee in Fata. He termed it a futile exercise, because real stakeholders were not taken onboard during consultation. He asked the government to share the report of Fata Reforms Committee with FPA and tribal people before its formal implementation in Fata.

Iqbal Afridi supported the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying that the Fata people wanted complete abolition of FCR. He alleged that a large-scale misappropriation of foreign aid and development funds in Fata due to lack of any checks and monitoring system. The alliance president called for mainstreaming Fata through bringing legal and political reforms.