Except JUI-F all political parties in favour of Fata, KP merger

 PESHAWAR: Except one all major political parties have an explicit stance on the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as political observers believe the move will have an impact on the upcoming general election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is frequently changing its position on Fata reforms apparently due to its ruling partners Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) in the federal government.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Awami National Party (ANP) and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) openly supported Fata reforms including its merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The JUI-F and PkMAP opposed the merger and advocated the status of a separate province for tribal areas as per the wishes of the tribespeople.In its recommendations, the Fata reforms committee headed by Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had reportedly mentioned ‘merger’ of Fata into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

However, the federal cabinet used the word ‘mainstreaming’ of Fata apparently to appease its allies when it approved the reforms in March this year. Under the reforms, the tribal people would elect their representatives for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in next general election.

Political observers said that PkMAP had no presence or organisational structure in the tribal belt so it would have no positive or negative impact on the upcoming general election in Fata but would have direct effect on its decade-long slogan for unity and unification of Pakhtuns and Pakhtuns territories.

“The JUI-F is one of the major political parties in the tribal belt and its stance on opposing the idea of merger has been misplaced by its rivals who claim the party was against Fata reforms including the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR),” said Nasir Dawar, a tribal journalist.

He added that it would have negative impact on the party’s vote-bank as the tribal people were fed up with the FCR and the system currently in vogue in the tribal areas. “We are not against Fata reforms but want the tribal people to make decisions about their future,” said JUI-F spokesperson Abdul Jalil Jan.

He added that if the tribespersons wanted Fata to be merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa his party would have no objection to it.     Keeping in view the presence and organisational structure of various political parties in the tribal areas, not a single political party can claim its popularity in the entire tribal belt, consisting of several tribal agencies and Frontier Regions.

Fata has 12 MNAs in National Assembly and eight Senators in the Upper House of Parliament and under the reforms it will have 23 MPAs in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. But at the moment the tribal parliamentarians in National Assembly and Senate had different opinions about the future status of the Fata.

The JUI-F MNA from South Waziristan is totally against the idea of merger while Shah Jee Gul Afridi from Khyber Agency, Shahabuddin Khan, PML-N MNA from Bajaur Agency, Sajid Tori MNA from Kurram Agency and Qaiser Jamal PTI MNA from FRs had a vigorous campaign for full implementation of tribal reforms including merger of the Fata into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while the rest of parliamentarians are changing their position on reforms issue.

On the other hand, political parties having its central leadership from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including ANP, JI and QWP, have adopted strong stance on merger of tribal areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and held protest rallies and public gatherings to press for the merger.

The PTI-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also openly supported for the merger and the provincial assembly also adopted resolutions on the issue. PML-N provincial president Amir Muqam has time and again supported the merger of Fata into KP but the party’s central leadership, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, has vague stance on the issue.