Creation of Fata province demanded

PESHAWAR: The Tribal Youth Movement has demanded that the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) should be given the status of a separate province.

It also sought election of tribal women on reserved seats in the Parliament.

The demands were made at a seminar organised by the Tribal Youth Movement here Saturday.

The seminar was attended by students, tribal elders, members of the intelligentsia and tribesmen from Fata.

The speakers at the seminar included the Tribal

Youth Movement President Ihsanullah, Uloosi Tehrik leader Dr Said Alam Mahsud, noted lawyer Karim Mahsud and Col (Retd) Inamullah Wazir.

They said that Fata had suffered a lot over the last several years and it is time to resolve the issues being faced by the people of the tribal belt through consultation with the stakeholders.

The speakers resented

the government’s attitude toward the tribal areas

and said that no concrete steps had been taken to mitigate the hardships of the tribespeople.

They pointed out that acts of terrorism had destroyed the entire infrastructure in the region and the authorities concerned were not doing enough to restore it.

The Tribal Youth Movement and a few speakers argued that Fata should be made a separate province as this was the only way to end the deprivation of the tribal people.