JI stages sit-in today for KP-Fata merger

MINGORA: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) provincial head Mushtaq Ahmad said that his party was staging a sit-in today in front of the Governor’s House in Peshawar to press the government to merge the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Speaking at a press conference here, he said that the sit-in would be staged from today.

He said the tribespeople were being denied their basic rights for decades and added that his party was striving to get rights for the tribespeople.

Mushtaq Ahmad said the JI would march on Islamabad on March 12 if the sit-in didn’t get the desired results.

The JI leader said that Malakand division was rich in natural resources. He said that Malakand division was hit by natural calamities in the recent past that caused financial losses to its residents.

Mushtaq Ahmad said the government ignored the militancy-ravaged and calamity-hit division.

He asked the federal government to compensate the people of Malakand for the losses and announce a special financial package for them.

The JI leader said the federation was usurping the rights of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and didn’t pay its due rights to the province.