PESHAWAR (Pakistan Point News / Online - 21st April, 2019) Qaumi Watan Party (QWP)Chairman Aftab Ahmad KhanSherpao on Sunday said the tribal people rendered unprecedented sacrifices for therestoration of peace therefore the governmentmust take steps to mitigate their sufferings.He was addressing a conferencetitled "Fata merger, issues and solutions" arranged by thePakhtunkhwa JamhooriIttehad (PJI) at the Nishtar Hall in Peshawar.PJI leaders, including its convener SikandarHayat Khan Sherpao, Mukhtiar BachaofNational Party Pakhtunkhwa Wahdat, Afzal Shah Khamosh of Mazdoor Kisan Party,AjmalAfridi of Pakhtunkhwa Ulasi Tehreek, Shahab Khattak of Awami Workers Party,known lawyerAbdul Latif Afridi, former MNA Shahjee Gul Afridi, former MPA YasmeenLehri fromBalochistan, Malik Misal Khan Orakzai of Fata Youth Jirga andJangrez Khan Mohmandspoke on the occasion.
Aftab Sherpao said the governmentshould honour its pledge of spending Rs100 billionannually for 10 years in thetribal districts so that the destroyed schools, hospitals andotherinfrastructure could be rebuilt and projects launched for the wellbeing ofthetribespeople."Prime Minister Imran Khan has beenunable to evolve consensus and persuade the provincesto contribute threepercent of their budget to the uplift of the tribal districts," he pointed out.
Casting aspersions on the census inthe former Fata, the QWP leader said thousands of thetribespeople had beendisplaced from their homes due to militancy and subsequent militaryoperationstherefore the data collected during the headcount was questionable.He said after the merger of theFederally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with KhyberPakhtunkhwa, the chiefminister was the chief executive of the province, including thetribaldistricts, but the governor was still meddling in the affairs of the formertribal areas.
He demanded the demining of thelandmines, resolving the issue of the missing persons andabolishing thesecurity checkpoints in the district districts to help bring an end tothemiseries of the local population. He said the government should change therelevant rulesto facilitate the merger of the Khassadar and Levies force intothe KP police.Aftab Sherpao said the election forKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly seats from the mergeddistricts and the localgovernment polls should be timely held to give representation tothetribespeople in the provincial legislature and devolve power at the grassroots.
He said almost all the politicalparties had strived for the merger of the former Fata withKhyber Pakhtunkhwatherefore the government must not miss the opportunity and shouldcome up tothe expectations of the tribal population.He said that some circles still hadreservations about the Fata-KP merger, urging thegovernment to address theirgrievances or else it could lead to alienation among the people."It would lead to uncertainty if theissues pertaining to the merged districts were put on thebackburner," AftabSherpao remarked.
The moot also adopted a 20-pointdeclaration that called for efforts to address the issue ofterrorism andextremism in the tribal districts.It said the KP chief minister andthe provincial cabinet should have powers with regard to thetribal districts.The announcement about the merger of the Khassadar and Levies personnelmust beimplemented and the people affected by acts of terrorism compensated, it added.The government was asked to set upseven industrial zones in tribal districts and exemptthese from taxes for 20years along with the provision of gas and electricity at subsidizedrates.
The irrigation system should beimproved, a fund set up to give loans to the tribal youth forstarting businessesand banks and other financial institutions should be established tofacilitatepeople. The declaration demanded that seven universities, seven DHQhospitals,three medical and engineering colleges, nursing and teachers traininginstitutesshould be established in the tribal districts.It said that easement rights shouldbe ensured on both sides of the border within an area of11 kilometers andtrade activities facilitated.
The declaration demanded the audit andthedetails of all the foreign funds announced for the former tribal areas duringthe war onterror.Two separate resolutions were alsopassed at the moot that called for removing the name of DrSaid Alam Mahsudfrom the Exit Control List so that he could go abroad for treatment andtaking stepsto address the grievances of the Hazara community and provide them protection.
