PESHAWAR: Awami National Party has announced its full support to the demands of students belonging to merged tribal districts and urged the government to fulfil all the commitments mentioned in the reform plan for erstwhile Fata.

ANP provincial president Aimal Wali Khan said in a statement here on Saturday that the students of merged districts had been protesting outside the Governor’s House in Lahore for acceptance of their demands, but the Punjab government was least bothered to pay them attention.

Referring to the reform plan of former Fata, the ANP leader said that the government had promised to provide relief to the people by exempting them from all taxes and increasing their reserved seats in educational institutions, but none of the commitments was fulfilled so far.

Aimal Wali said the students, in a state of compulsion, had announced hunger strike because the Punjab government was not serious to give them admissions on reserved seats as promised. He said ANP would fully support the students’ campaign for acceptance of their genuine demands.

He said the students had started hunger strike and in case of any harm to them the entire responsibility would rest with the Punjab government.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2021