QUETTA: The provincial president of the Awami National Party (ANP) in Balochistan, Asghar Khan Achakzai, on Thursday termed the passage of the bill for merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the National Assembly a milestone on the road to mainstreaming of tribal areas.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the next move of his party would be for the merger of South and North Waziristan.

“Today Bacha Khan’s dream has come true,” he said, adding the great leader had dreamed of one land for all Pakhtuns living in the region. He said the ANP lauded the National Assembly for passing the Fata merger bill by a two third majority.

Engineer Zamrak Khan Achakzai, ANP provincial secretary general Haji Nizamuddin Kakar, Arbab Umar Farooq Kasi and other party leaders were present in the news conference and they shared their views on the historical day.

“Our forefathers have struggled for the rights of small provinces in the country. Although we were labelled as traitor, we always struggled to strengthen federation. With the merger of Fata with KP the federation would be more powerful.” Mr Achakzai said.

He said the ANP had tabled a resolution in the provincial assembly for the merger of Fata with KP in the 1990s and today the party had achieved its objective.

Talking about the opposition to Fata’s merger with KP by some political leaders, including Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the ANP provincial president said he could never understand why they were against this merger.

Mocking Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, he said the Maulana’s opposition to Fata’s merger was understandable as he wanted to use Fata as a terrorism factory.

“We want to congratulate all Pakhtuns living in Pakistan as today is the victory of Fata’s people who desperately wanted to become part of federation,” he said.

The ANP leader alleged that when former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was in power he did not stop former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf from leaving the country and after his ouster from the office he had started crying of injustice.

In reply to a question about the newly formed political party Baloch­istan Awami Party, Mr Achakzai said that such planted political parties were harmful for democracy and politics in Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2018