December 21, 2006	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 29, 1427

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PESHAWAR, Dec 20: In a major policy statement, NWFP Governor Lt-Gen (R) Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai on Wednesday underscored the need for revisiting the issue of extension to the tribal areas of the Political Parties Act.

Mr Aurakzai told an official meeting here that the issue needed to be examined in the light of the ground realities. He was of the view that in the situation obtaining in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas a balancing act couldn’t be ruled out, a press statement quoted him as saying.

The statement comes after a report by the International Crisis Group, which recommended that Pakistan extend the Political Parties Act to the tribal region in order to enable liberal and secular parties to function there freely. This way the liberal parties could act as a counterweight to the religious parties in Fata.

The government has been reluctant to extend the aforesaid law to the tribal region, citing concerns that the region could become a political battlefield. Despite a ban on political activities in the region straddling the Pak-Afghan border, the pro-Taliban JUI (F) has emerged as the single largest group with most parliamentarians in the National Assembly.

Governor Aurakzai urged the intelligentsia from the region to come forward with proposals to address the problems facing Fata. He added that the time had come for introspection so that the much-needed attitudinal change in tribesmen was made possible.

Presiding over a meeting of the Fata-domiciled bureaucrats at the Governor's House, Mr Aurakzai said the tribal areas had gained importance particularly after Sept 11, 2001.

He said the redeeming feature of the situation, however, was that the policymakers had come to realise the gravity of the problem and had decided to take concrete measures for the much-needed socio-economic development of this hitherto underdeveloped region.

A variety of suggestions were offered by the participants of the meeting. After a detailed discussion, it was decided that a workshop would be held on the subject so that a consensus on the tribal areas could be reached.

The proposed workshop would be attended by a cross section of the elite from Fata, said the participants. A report containing recommendations would be formulated at the end of the workshop which would be presented to the governor.