LAHORE: The government should immediately implement the Sartaj Aziz Committee’s recommendations and the federal cabinet decisions’ declaring the tribal areas a part of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa.

He said this in a video link address with workers from Bajaur, Mehmand, Orakzai, Kurram and Waziristan agencies, attending a central workshop at Mansoora, from Islamabad. The delaying tactics in the merger of Fata were not acceptable, he said.

He demanded that the KP provincial government be given powers in respect of the tribal areas and the funds reserved for the tribal areas be handed over to the provincial government, enabling it to undertake development and other routine work.

The JI chief said the British rulers had introduced the oppressive Frontier Crimes Regulation to deny freedom to the valiant tribal people, but even after 70 years of independence, the tribal areas were being ruled under the same black law. Around ten million tribal people were at the mercy of the political agents and tehsildars.

He said the rulers had not honoured the commitments of the Quaid-i-Azam to the tribal people as the Quaid had called the tribal people as unpaid defenders of Pakistan. He said that even now attempts were being made to push the tribal people to the wall.

Mr Haq stressed that the reforms in the tribal areas be completed in the current year and these areas be merged into KP before the next elections.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2017