Parliamentary leader rejects Fata merger into KP

BARA: Rejecting the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Fata Parliamentary leader from Khyber Agency Nasir Khan Afridi on Sunday called for tribespeople’s complete control over their resources.

Talking to the reporters, he said he was concerned over the media reports which claimed that the tribal lawmakers would not receive any funds in the next financial year.

The MNA said the reports claimed that tribal lawmakers would also be not able to legislate for own areas.

Nasir Khan Afridi criticised the political parties for not making efforts for empowering tribespeople. “They are interested only in increasing their strength in the assemblies,” he added.

The MNA said the political parties and other stakeholders had not taken any practical steps for the empowerment of tribespeople.

He said that if the government and political parties were serious in Fata mainstreaming, they should introduce real reforms and address the reservations of the tribespeople over the current changes.