Khyber elders reject delimitation of constituencies

BARA: Bara Siyasi Ittehad leaders rejected delimitation of constituencies in the Khyber tribal district here on Saturday.

The Ittehad leaders held a meeting, attended by Jamaat -e-Islami amir Shah Faisal Afridi, Jamiat-Uelma-e-Islam (JUI-F) amir Shamsuddin, Pakistan People’s Party leader Dr Sher Shah Afridi, Pakistan Muslim League-N’s Zahir Shah Afridi, Pakistan Awami Inqilabi League president Attaullah, Awami National Party leader Sadeeq Chirag, Khyber Union’s Zahidullah, MPA Shafiq Afridi, former MNA Iqbal Afridi, tehsil chairman Mufti Kafeel and others.

On the occasion, the speakers said that the boundaries of three tehsils of the Khyber district had already been confirmed and the election commission should award one provincial Assembly seat to each tehsil.

“Due to increasing the populations of Bara, the election commission should allocate one more MPA seat for Bara and Tirah areas,” said Shah Faisal, adding that the population of Bara is equal to that of Landikotal and Jamrud tehsils.

He rejected the 2017 census of the ex-Fata including Khyber district as thousands of displaced persons had not yet returned to their native areas when the census was conducted.

The speakers demanded the government to again launch a census in the merged districts as thousands of people who had been displaced due to militancy had now returned.

They asked the election commission to restore the ex-Fata’s National Assembly (NA) seats, particularly in Khyber district.