Govt urged to hold LG polls in Fata

BARA: The tribal people, including political leaders and tribal elders, have asked the government to hold local government elections in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) to empower the tribespeople.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the second province, where the local government election is being held on May 30. Balochistan has already held the local government polls.Punjab and Sindh governments are also going to hold the local government elections.
Talking to The News, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader in Khyber Agency Iqbal Afridi said the federal government adopted such policies regarding Fata that suited its interest. “The federal government is least bothered to facilitate the tribal people,” he maintained.
He said holding the local government election in the tribal areas was the basic and political right of tribesmen and the government should not deprive them of their rights.He regretted that several commissions were constituted for bringing reforms in Fata, but the living standard of the tribesmen couldn’t be improved. “The PTI is the only political force, which raised voice against the drone strikes in the tribal belt. We will continue to work for the uplift of the people,” he pledged.
Awami National Party (ANP) Fata leader Imran Afridi said his party would back all efforts to hold the local government election in tribal areas on the basis of adult franchise. “I am trying my level best to engage the tribal people in the political process,” he maintained.
Imran Afridi alleged that the government was using delaying tactics to conduct the LG polls in Fata. He demanded that the government should immediately announce the date for the LG polls in Fata. “The security situation is not bad in the tribal areas and the elections should not be postponed,” he stressed.
Commenting on the proposed draft by the Fata Reforms Commission (FRC) to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor, Imran Afridi termed the formation of Fata and Agency Councils a joke. He added that reviving the old LG system in Fata would cause differences among the tribal people. “I will convey my reservations to party’s central leadership with regard to the local government elections in tribal areas,” he added.
Fata Lawyers Forum (FLF) former president Karim Mehsud said the local bodies system should be extended to Fata to do away with the centuries-old system of Maliks. “The tribal people will never accept a system based on injustice and will strongly resist any attempt made by the government,” he declared.
Lashing out at political parties, Karim Mehsud said political parties had never supported the tribal people to get rid of the old system. He urged the people to stand for their rights to change their destiny. “The time has come for mainstreaming Fata,” he stressed.