‘Fata merger mustn’t be delayed’

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said on Tuesday the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should not be delayed as it would be against the will of the tribal people.

He said that extending existing laws, constitutional and administrative structure to Fata was the need of the hour. "The merger should neither be delayed nor obstructed. Each tribal agency has its own Riwaj," he added.

The chief minister said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should be the centre of powers. He said that after the merger, controlling the elected members of Fata would be against the spirit of the whole process.

He  said the inspector general of the Frontier Corps had offered to induct trained FC personnel into the police for policing Fata. Khattak said that the army chief guaranteed against excesses and racial profiling of Pakhtuns in Punjab.

A handout said he made these remarks while addressing a 100-member representative delegation of the Fata Political Alliance at the Chief Minister's House in Peshawar. The chief minister assured the jirga to fight the case of Fata's merger into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in line with the aspirations of tribal people.

He said the British Raj had introduced draconian laws to subdue the people of Fata. "We cannot tolerate such laws," he added. The chief minister said when the process of Fata reforms started, the provincial government was not taken onboard. He said the people of Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had similar traditions.