International walker from Punjab launches march for Fata rights

PESHAWAR: An international walker, Kharlzada Kasrat Rai, on Sunday started a walk from Bab-e-Khyber in Khyber Agency to Islamabad to raise voice for the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Speaking at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, he said the walk was aimed at raising voice for the rights of the tribal people who had been suffering due to the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). He said it was time for the government to materialise the reforms plan for Fata.

Takrah Qabaili Khwendey representative, Naheed Afridi, Nausheen Orakzai, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society's Taimur Kamal, Gul Nawaz Mohmand, Shafiq Gigyani, Suleman Yousufzai, Awami National Party, Mohmand Agency President, Nisar Khan, transgender community representatives Khushbu and Gurya were also present on the occasion.

The international walker said Fata Member National Assembly Shahji Gul Afridi and other tribal elders had given him a warm welcome and praised him for his determination. However, he pointed out that some people had asked him to avoid the walk for Fata-KP merger but he didn't pay them any attention.

"I think the delay in the merger is against the basic rights of the people of the tribal regions. I will continue raising voice for rights of the people at all costs," he vowed, urging the federal government to materialise the reforms plan at the earliest to mitigate miseries of the tribal people.

The representatives of the CSOs also talked about the negative impacts of delay in Fata-KP merger. They said it was duty of the federal government to fulfill its commitment with the people at the earliest. They said the tribal people were leading a miserable life, especially after the displacement because they had suffered losses but the government did not extend them proper support.

Naheed Afridi of Takrah Qabaili Khwendey said the educational institutions, healthcare centres were in a poor state. She urged the government to ensure spending of the Fata funds on welfare of the people, reconstruction of the infrastructure and rehabilitation of the tribal people.

The tribal people, she said, were Pakistanis and had rights as guaranteed by the Constitution but the successive governments never paid them due attention, leading to a sense of deprivation among them. Praising the walker, she said Kasrat Rai belonged to Punjab but felt it necessary to raise voice for rights of the deprived people of Fata.