Govt committed to implementing Fata reforms: KP governor

PESHAWAR: Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said on Sunday that it was the need of the hour to abolish the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) and introduce reforms in the tribal areas.

A 26-member delegation representing Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) called on Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra at the Governor’s House. Member National Assembly (MNA) Sahibzada Abdul Rasheed led the delegation.

JI’s Sardar Khan, Zarnoor Afridi, Akbar Ali, Shah Faisal Afridi, Raj Muhammad Orakzai, Dr Samiullah Jan, Saifur Rehman, Muhammad Saeed, Abdul Manan, Sajid Khan, Sher Muhammad, Muhammad Hussain, Muhammad Hameed Sufi and Muhammad Hairan were also present on the occasion.

The delegation asked the governor to approve the recommendations of the Fata Reforms Committee and merge Fata into the province. The members of the delegation reposed confidence in the Fata Reforms Committee.  

Iqbal Zafar Jhagra assured the delegation that the proposals of the Fata Reforms Committee would be approved as soon as possible.  The governor said no effort would be spared to implement the report of the Fata Reforms Committee.

He said an overwhelming majority of the people of Fata wanted to become part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was also the desire of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. “We want to abolish the FCR, implement reforms in Fata and bring the tribal region into the mainstream so that the tribal areas could be developed,” he concluded.  

Earlier, the JI activists held protest and staged a sit-in outside the Governors’ House to urge the government to merge the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.