KP-PA Endorses FATA Merger With Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

IPESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th May, 2018 ) :KP-PA endorses FATA merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa **CORRECTED** (EDs: REPEATING AFTER FIXING TYPOS IN THE STORY) The Constitution (Twenty-Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2018 to endorse FATA merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas Merger Bill was first adopted by National Assembly followed by the Senate. However, its endorsement by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was also a constitutional requirement under Article 239 sub-section 4 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

Though overwhelming majority of the members of the house were in favour of the endorsement of the bill. However, members of the house belonging to the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) of Malakand Division complained of being ignored in the consultations before taking a crucial decision regarding their region.

In that connection, the house also passed a unanimous resolution, which stated that Sartaj Aziz Commission on FATA was constituted for the resolution of problems relating to the tribal region and PATA was not included in its mandate.

The resolution also carried the signatures of Sardar Hussain Babak, Mohammad Reshad Khan, Sahibzada Sanaullah, Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha, Shah Farman, Sikandar Hayat Sherpao and Saeed Gul. The resolution moved by Dr.

Haider Ali, a PTI legislator from district Swat said that the commission in compiling report regarding PATA (Malakand Division) did not consult the elected public representatives of the region. The resolution said that though they were fully supporting the Merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but along with it also declared that the people of Malakand Division were not consulted before the abolition of their special status.

It said that at the time of accession with Pakistan, the people of PATA were granted special concessions in 1947, which were abolished under the 25thConstitutional Amendment without holding any consultation with them.d It also observed that on the demand of the people of PATA (Malakand Division) and a movement, the government had enforced Nizam-e-Shariah Adl system and after the deletion of Article 247 that special regulations would also come to an end.

The resolution said that though they fully supported the merger of FATA into KP, but they demanded that instead of five years PATA should be exempted of taxes for a period of ten years and it should be kept open for further extension.

The second resolution is the continuation of Shariah Nizam-e-Adl, as it would create severe uncertainty and make Malakand division vulnerable to anarchy. The house also called for the implementation of the Shariah Nizam-e-Adl in the shape of an Act of the legislature.

Through the third resolution, the house demanded that like FATA, PATA should also be given an annual development fund of Rs.100 billion annually to overcome backwardness in the region. It said that like FATA, PATA had also remained a victim of lawlessness and militancy.

Therefore, both should be treated at par. Furthermore, the Federal government should also provide subsidize electricity to the industrial zones of the region to attract investment to the area. Eighty seven members voted in favour of the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and only seven members belonging to JUI-F opposed it.