Jirga wants Fata-KP merger reversed

GHALLANAI: The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) organised a grand jirga against the merger of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and asked the government to reverse the decision forthwith.

Besides former parliamentarians, elders and maliks, a large number of JUI workers and supporters participated in the jirga to register a protest against the merger. Speaking on the occasion, JUIF chief for merged districts Mufti Abdul Shakoor, ex-lawmaker Hameedullah Jan, Massodur Rahman and others alleged that the government of Pakistan had merged the ex-Fata with KP to fulfil the demands as per foreign agenda.

They said that the rulers had trampled the local traditions and customs, including the jirga system and introduced the British-era judicial systems, which deteriorated the situation. The speakers said that JUIF chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party head Mamood Khan Achakzai had opposed the merger of tribal areas since day one as it was not the demand of the local people. They said the local residents wanted a separate province for the people of tribal areas.

The speakers said the merger had complicated the situation in the tribal areas as there was chaos everywhere due to ambiguity about the powers and limitations of different government departments. The jirga demanded immediate repeal of the 25th Constitutional Amendment, revival of the jirga system and reforms to the Frontier Crimes Regulation.