ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly takes up key legislations for implementation of much-awaited reforms to bring the restive tribal region into mainstream when it begins its session on Monday.

The 12-point agenda for the session shows three bills, including one constitutional amendment bill, moved by Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) retired Lt Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch in line with the recommendations of the special committee that had formulated the proposals for mainstreaming of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) through a number of reforms.

Besides moving the amendment bill required for declaring Fata a part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the minister is set to move a bill seeking extension of the jurisdiction of the Peshawar High Court and the Supreme Court to Fata and the Tribal Areas Rewaj Bill, 2017.

The Rewaj bill is being introduced “to provide for a system of administration of justice, maintenance of peace and good governance in Fata and protected or administered areas”, says its brief introduction.

A source in the NA Secretariat told Dawn that the government had convened this session for five days only for introduction of Fata reforms bills. After this, he said, the session would be prorogued and it would be summoned again on May 26 for presentation of the federal budget. He claimed that the NA was 10 days short to fulfill the constitutional requirement of remaining in session for at least 130 days in a parliamentary year ending on May 31.

However, the data available on the official website of the assembly shows that the NA still requires to be in session for another 14 days to meet the constitutional requirement.

The assembly is taking up the Fata reforms-related bills just five days before the May 20 deadline that had been set by the representatives of the main political parties and the tribal areas for carrying out reforms in Fata during a multi-party conference (MPC) in Islamabad on May 6.

The participants of the MPC while expressing their concerns over delay in the implementation of proposed Fata reforms had threatened to march on Islamabad, if the government did not convene special sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate by May 20 to carry out necessary legislation and approve required constitutional amendment for the purpose.

The ultimatum had been given by the MPC participants through a declaration that was read out for the media by MNA Shah Gee Gul Afridi.

During the MPC, a number of speakers had expressed reservations over the government’s move to introduce the Rewaj bill, alleging that it seemed that the government wanted to introduce a parallel judiciary system in the region. They had asked the government to release the details of the Rewaj act so that they could study it and assess its impact.

The federal cabinet in its meeting on March 2 approved a set of steps to be taken for proposed merger of Fata with KP and a 10-year reform package to bring the tribal region on a par with other developing areas of the country. Over Rs110 billion development package, proposed by a six-member Fata reforms committee, was approved for the seven agencies of the tribal region.

Senior vice president of the PML-Q Ajmal Wazir, one of the most active members of the movement for Fata reforms, when contacted, welcomed the government’s move of introducing the required legislations in parliament.

Mr Wazir, who belongs to South Waziristan, however, regretted that the government had only come into action when they threatened to come out on streets for their rights.

He questioned the logic of bringing the Rewaj act when the committee had already recommended the merger of Fata with KP.

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid had last week in a statement stated that the Rewaj Bill, 2017, had been finalised in line with the wishes of the people of Fata, giving full protection to their customs as well as bringing them in the mainstream by introducing the normal system.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2017