Ex-minister vows to strive for rights of tribesmen

BARA: Former federal minister and chief of Qaumi Qabail Tehreek Hameedullah Jan Afridi said on Saturday that he would fight for the rights of tribespeople.

Speaking at a function arranged by senior students for the new comers of the Government Degree College Kohi Sher Haider, he said the merger decision was made without the consent of tribespeople.

He said the government had not taken the tribespeople into confidence about the merger process.

“We will fight for the rights of the tribespeople at all platforms,” he vowed, adding, they had already fought for their rights.

The former minister said that in the past too they had fought for the rights of the tribal people as per their wishes. He said there was no political party to raise issue of the affected people but all parties were being supported the Fata merger issue without the consent of the tribal people.

He said militants destroyed the homes, business markets and others infrastructure in Bara but there was no political party that raised voice against it.

“Our war was against the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) not with political parties but the parties destroyed the tribal culture and traditions,” he maintained, adding, the political parties made false promises with the tribal people but did nothing so far.

He said the government had promised to establish schools, colleges, universities and hospitals before merging the Fata into the province but the pledges were not honoured.

He said the merger process was yet to be completed but the government had installed toll plazas to fleece the local population.

The former minister urged the government to reconstruct the damaged schools, hospitals, irrigation system and other infrastructure destroyed in militancy.

He claimed that the government underreported the population of the tribal districts in the last census.

“Now we want separate province in the name of “Qabailistan” for tribal people,” he demanded.

Khyber Union central president Bazaar Gul Afridi, general secretary Murad Saqi, Anjuman-i-Tajiran Bara chairman Said Ayaz and students also spoke on the occasion.