KOHAT: The Qabail Qaumi Tehreek (QQT), which has been formed to raise voice against the merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has asked the government to refrain from making hasty decisions about the fate of the tribesmen and halt making any administrative changes without their consent.

The demand was made at a meeting of QQT held in Darra Adamkhel on Monday, where it formally elected its chairman, former senator Hamidullah Jan, and chief organiser, former MNA Haji Baz Gul Afridi Zarghun Khel.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Jan demanded that the deployment of police and judiciary should be made after talks otherwise tension would be created between the tribesmen and the government.

The QQT was constituted at a jirga last month where its official flag was also launched.

Speaking at the jirga, chief organiser Baz Gul rejected the merger decision of the government and termed it a direct attack on the centuries-old culture and civilisation of the tribesmen. He renewed their demand for a separate province for the tribal regions.

He said earlier the government had decided to uphold the jirga system for two years before introducing civil and criminal courts and policing.

But, he said the Peshawar High Court had ordered immediate abolition of the jirga system within 30 days.

When contacted, assistant commissioner, Darra, Shayan Ali Jawa told Dawn that they were functioning under sections 10, 11 and 13 of Fata interim governance regulations as a replacement for police and courts.

But now as the PHC had struck off the sections they would have to implement the new regulations as formulated by the civil secretariat as Fata secretariat was being abolished.

To a query, he said as a preliminary step Levies force was being turned into police force.

The aged khasadars would be retired and young would be inducted in the police system, he added.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2018