Ex-Fata merged with KP in haste, claims Fazl ur Rehman

WANA: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday said that the government merged the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in haste.

Talking to reporters here, he said the government had not honoured a single pledge made with the tribal people at the time of the merger. He believed the ones who were in favour of merging the former tribal areas with KP now regretted supporting the merger.

The Maulana, who is also head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), maintained that the government should have executed uplift schemes in the ex-Fata instead of going for the merger. He said that the government had failed to start the development activities in the tribal districts as the funds could not be issued.

The PDM chief said the non-release of funds for undertaking development activities would deepen the sense of deprivation among the residents of the merged districts. He alleged that the government had raised a tribal lashkar to demolish the homes of the people in Wana in South Waziristan.