QWP favours merger, tribal elders oppose it

LANDIKOTAL: The Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) favoured while the tribal Maliks opposed the Fata merger in their separate news conferences held here on Sunday.

In the first press conference, QWP Khyber president Ali Rahman Shalmani said that the draconian “Frontier Crimes Regulation” (FCR) was replaced with the constitution after a long political struggle.

He said certain elements were against the merger to create chaos. Shalmani said tribal people could not challenge the decisions of the political agents made under the FCR. He added the merger process may have problems and it would take time to bring its real results.

“We are worried about the target killings in the tribal districts. It is a challenge for the government to protect the lives of citizens and stop the bloodshed of innocent people,” Shalmani said.

He added that a number of people, including policemen and government servants, were target-killed in erstwhile Fata in recent months. He said the QWP had started corner meetings to convey the message of peace to the residents of merged districts.

Meanwhile, at a separate press conference, Khyber Qaumi Jirga chief Malik Bismillah flunked by local elder and JUI leader Said Kabir Afridi and Malik Zar Muhammad Afridi said that land disputes emerged after the merger that claimed dozens of lives in the merged districts. He said those who supported the merger failed to come up to the expectations of the people.

“The Fata merger was carried out unlawfully, unconstitutionally, undemocratically and is unnatural that destroyed tribal culture and traditions,” said Malik Bismillah.

He said courts could not find a solution to the land disputes that erupted after merger in the tribal districts.

He said they did not accept the merger as it was a foreign agenda. The elders said that their struggle would continue until they got back the jirga system in the tribal districts.