ISLAMABAD: Parliamentarians from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on Friday announced their support for the government’s reform package, which includes the merger of the tribal agencies with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The announcement was made by Alhaj Shah Jee Gul Afridi, the leader of Fata parliamentarians at a press conference at the Press Information Department. Mr Afridi said that the differences with the government regarding the proposed reforms have been overcome.

Mr Afridi was accompanied by MNAs from Fata, including veteran politicians Dr Syed GG Jamal and Sajid Turi from the Khurrum Agency which is one of the most troubled of the agencies, PML-N’s Ghalib Khan and PTI’s Qaiser Jamal.

“We all want Fata to be merged with KP, but the process has to be cautiously calculated and monitored by committees,” Mr Afridi said.

“The government has agreed that elected parliamentarians will be included in all committees and the merger process to ensure that the voices of the people of Fata are reflected in the decision making,” he said.

Demand politicians from agencies be included in decision making regarding the merger, monitoring of the process

Mr Afridi added that three important tasks, including bringing peace to the region, development process and the administrative merger with KP, should be executed simultaneously.

“We all demand that the Federal Cabinet’s meeting, scheduled for Feb 7, should approve the proposed Fata reforms formulated by the Safron ministry. This way, the future course of action will be achieved at the earliest,” he said.

Fata parliamentarians and the government have, among other things, agreed on the participation of elected representatives in the development process, in the formulation of the Riwaj Act which will replace the Frontier Crimes Regulation and in the finalisation of development projects related to health, education and infrastructure.

When asked that earlier development packages in Fata have mostly resulted in influential people from the region purchasing properties in Islamabad and Peshawar as well as vehicles, Mr Afridi said: “Yes, development projects have been negligibly implemented in Fata in the past which is why we say that parliamentarians should be included in decision making and the monitoring of development projects.”

The politician said that the prime minister has also been asked to invite investors from Karachi to establish industries and businesses in Fata.

Dr GG Jamal said the government has agreed to invest three percent of NFC in Fata and that parliamentarians had demanded this be raised to six percent in the next budget.

Speaking of the opposition of the reforms, Sajid Turi criticised the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party for its unwarranted opposition of the Fata reforms and said Mr Achakzai has no stakes in Fata. He said Maulana Fazlur Rehman is a senior politician and will soon agree to the government sponsored reforms package.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2017