PESHAWAR: All Fata Political Parties Alliance has demanded merger of Fata into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and asked the government to announce a package of Rs300 billion to rehabilitate displaced tribal people and compensate tribal traders.

Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, the leaders of the alliance, led by Akhunzada Chattan, said that tribal people would march from Rashakai Interchange to Islamabad on November 16 to stage a sit-in at D Chowk there for acceptance of their demands.

Mr Chattan said that a convention of the alliance would be also held at Nishtar Hall on Oct 31. Similarly, he said, the alliance would hold an all-party conference in Islamabad on November 2 to finalise arrangements for the rally and sit-in. “Thousands of tribal people are still living in different areas as internally displaced persons (IDPs) but the government is not taking practical steps for their rehabilitation,” he said.

He demanded of the government to announce a package of Rs300 billion for the rehabilitation of IDPs and compensation of tribal traders. He said appreciated Fata parliamentarians for tabling a bill about scrapping Frontier Crimes Regulation and for merger Fata into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that Fata parliamentarians should put the bill as a demand to the federal government before the elections of speaker of National Assembly if they were really sincere.

Flanked by other leaders of the alliance including JI’s Sahibzada Haroonur Rasheed and Zarnoor Afridi, ANP leader Nisar Mohmand, QWP leader Zahir Shah Safi and Fata Lawyers Forum leader Taj Mahal Afridi, Mr Chattan said that tribal people were united but some of them were opposing them at the behest of bureaucrats.

“By taking out the rally, we just want to assure the government that the people of Fata are sincere in their demand about merger of Fata into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and those opposing them have no status in their respective regions,” he said and added that the demand was against the interests of bureaucracy.

Mr Chattan said that tribal people had been struggling against the black law of FCR for the last over four decades but successive governments didn’t take notice of their problems. Tribal people, he said, were complaining against non-availability of proper facilities of education, communication, health and drinking water but none of the rulers paid serious attention to them.

He said that the alliance had already rejected the recommendations of the government-sponsored Fata Reforms Commission as it failed to consult the tribal people in that regard.

Mr Chattan asked the government to announce a negotiating committee so that the alliance leaders could discuss the issues with relevant officials otherwise taking out of rallies and holding protest demonstrations would become a compulsion and the responsibility would rest with the rulers.

He said that tribal people would take to streets if government failed to pay attention to their demands as they had already suffered during the war against terrorism.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2015

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