ISLAMABAD: Represen­ta­tives of almost all mainstream political parties have urged the federal government to allow free movement of internally displaced people (IDPs) of North Waziristan in all parts the country.

The demand was made by members of the Joint Committee on Fata Reforms which met here on Thursday to review the condition of around one million IDPs living in camps in Bannu because of the ongoing military operation Zarb-i-Azb against Taliban in North Waziristan.

Nationalists plan drive against IDPs entry into Sindh

The committee members belonging to 10 parties expressed concern over reports that the IDPs were being stopped from entering Punjab and Sindh.

“Under the Constitution, the people of Fata have the right to move freely within the country,” said Ajmal Wazir, the focal person for the committee formed in 2010 to develop a consensus on electoral and political reforms in Fata.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Wazir said the committee members wanted the government to give cash to the IDPs, instead of relief goods, so that they could purchase items they needed the most.

The committee, he said, had also called for better coordination between the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments and asked them to avoid “political point-scoring” on the issue. Moreover, he said, the committee members wanted the government to announce a special development package for the North Waziristan area to provide better health and education facilities upon their return to their homes.

Mr Wazir, who is also the senior vice-president of the PML-Q, said the members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) could not attend the Thursday’s meeting. However, he said, representatives of these two parties were contacted by telephone during the meeting.

Replying to a question, Mr Wazir said the committee members had also taken notice of the PPP’s move to submit a resolution in the National Assembly seeking powers for the parliament to make laws for Fata without taking other parties into confidence.

He said the committee members had decided to take up the matter with the PPP since the committee had been formed by former president Asif Ali Zardari in 2010.

The PPP lawmakers had submitted the resolution see­king amendment to Article 247 of the Constitution, a demand which is also included in the 11-point consensus recommendations prepared by the Joint Committee on Fata Reforms.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2014