ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Tuesday saw a great deal of indignation over the federal cabinet’s decision to drop the Fata reforms package from the agenda of its latest meeting, with tribal lawmakers threatening agitation if their deadline for the package’s approval is not met.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle criticised the move in the harshest terms, with Fata MNAs making impassioned appeals to keep the tribal regions from turning into “another Kashmir”.
But even though Finance Minister Ishaq Dar came to the house immediately after the cabinet meeting and was fully prepared to respond to lawmakers’ concerns, he was deprived of the opportunity to do so when a lack of quorum was pointed out by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNA Junaid Akbar.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Shahabuddin Khan, who represents Bajaur, caused a stir by sporting a black armband and tying a black gag across his mouth, as a mark of protest. He did not speak during the session and walked out of the house to register his displeasure with the low priority accorded to the Fata reforms by the government.
Jamaat MNA vows to hold sit-in on March 12 if reforms package not passed
“If I were in power, I would have ensured that on Feb 5, we would observe ‘Fata day’, not ‘Kashmir day’. We are not concerned with the problems of our own country, but we have time to talk about Kashmir,” said Khyber Agency MNA Shah Jee Gul Afridi.
Lamenting that Fata did not have “a single university or medical college, natural gas, or a CT scan machine for around 20 million people or potable water”, Mr Afridi said that despite those issues, the people of the tribal areas had never raised anti-Pakistan slogans.
Referring to the jirga that met at the Islamabad Convention Centre on Monday to demand Fata’s merger with KP, Mr Afridi said that all political parties were present at the meeting.
“This was a clear message, which should have been heeded,” he said, adding that when participants of the jirga learned that Fata reforms were on the agenda of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, they planned to stay on until the package was approved. “But I advised them not to create a scene,” he said.
“But what did we get in return? Fata reforms were dropped from the agenda of the cabinet. This has greatly disappointed the people of the tribal areas.
“March 12 is our deadline. If our reforms package is not approved, we will not let a single branch of government function until we receive the rights that are being enjoyed by all Pakistanis,” he declared, warning the government not to force the tribal people towards “rebellion”.
Qaumi Watan Party’s Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao termed it a “most unfortunate development”, saying that after discussion in the National Assembly, the Fata reforms package was sent to the cabinet with the expectation that the government would make meaningful progress on the issue.
“It appears that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was initially in favour of these reforms, is no longer enthusiastic about them,” he said, adding that the Fata reforms were long overdue.
“If the reforms package is approved, it would be one of the biggest achievements in the history of the country and a feather in the prime minister’s cap,” he maintained.
Mainstreaming Fata would also curtail terrorism, he said, adding that elements that found shelter in the tribal areas would no longer be able to operate in those areas once the British-era Frontier Crimes Regulations was repealed.
“If there is some pressure on the prime minister, he should rise above it and play the role of a statesman. This is the right time to make this decision, which will be in the best interest of Pakistan,” Mr Sherpao concluded.
Jamaat-i-Islami’s Sahibzada Tariqullah said that the Fata reforms package was the most comprehensive report laid before the house during that term. “But now we get the feeling that the government is backing down,” he said.
He said that if the reforms were not approved by the March 12 deadline, “people of the tribal areas will descend on Islamabad and you will see what an actual dharna [sit-in] looks like”.
Published in Dawn February 8th, 2017