LANDI KOTAL: Haji Shahji Gul, the former parliamentary leader of six independent tribal MNAs, has announced to launch a campaign in tribal areas to pressure the federal government for introducing reforms in Fata.

He said that three of his colleagues including MNA Sajid Turi from Kurram Agency and Shahabuddin Khan from Bajaur Agency would visit all the seven tribal agencies and six frontier regions to muster support and pressurise government for early passage of the proposed Fata reforms bill.

The MNA said that both Imran Khan and Asfandyar Wali Khan pledged their full support for immediate merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and bringing about necessary amendments in the controversial Rewaj Act.

“We are open for dialogue with all the stakeholders including Mulana Fazlur Rehman and Mehmood Khan Achakzai to find out an acceptable solution to the objection raised by certain quarters about the proposed merger of Fata with KP,” Mr Gul.

He said that none of the Fata parliamentarians had so far openly opposed the reforms plan. “We are quite hopeful that they will also support our protest campaign for early passage of the proposed bill from the parliament,” he added.

He, however, acknowledged that the mini revolt his colleagues staged against him to depose him from the post of parliamentary leader in National Assembly caused damage to their three-year struggle for reforming the existing tribal system and merging the war-ravaged region with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Confirming that the protest campaign would be started after Eidul Fitr, MNA from Kurram Sajid Turi told Dawn that they would adopt a two-pronged strategy of protest campaign and awareness drive.

He said that their group of three MNAs and one senator would tour all the tribal regions and talk to representatives of all segments of tribal society. “We are open for dialogue with everyone to muster support for our joint cause of merging Fata with KP.” he said.

Mr Turi said that they had received positive signals from different quarters in their quest in winning all the legal and constitutional rights for the people of tribal areas.

“We will also try to remove reservations of our colleagues in National Assembly and Senate about merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and implementation of Rewaj Act,” he said and added that he had held successful meeting with some like-minded tribal parliamentarians.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2017