PESHAWAR - Fata Political Alliance while rejecting introduction of Rewaj Act in tribal areas, threatened to launch a protest campaign against federal government if Frontier Crime Regulations was replaced with the proposed act.
Fata Political Alliance (FPA) President Sardar Khan while addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Saturday said they welcomed the overall decision of the cabinet, but still had reservations about the proposed law. He claimed that the proposed Rewaj Act was a duplication of the controversial Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR). Sardan Khan is also ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Sardan Khan further said the status and functions of political agents and other administrative staffs were not clear in the proposed reforms. “We would condemn reimplementation of FCR in the shape of Rewaj Act”, he said. He asked the government to extend the 1973 Constitution to the tribal region in order to bring the tribal people at par with rest of the countrymen. He also demanded of the government that powers of the political agents should completely be abolished.
Flanked by the alliance leaders including Haji Iqbal Afridi, Shah Faisal Afridi, Kinza Iqtedar, and Zarnoor Afridi, Sardar Khan demanded of the federal government to complete the process of merger of Fata with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) before the 2018 general elections so that tribal people could send their elected representatives to KP Assembly. He resolved that they would continue their struggle for their constitutional, legal and other basic rights.
The alliance president urged the government to take pragmatic steps for the establishment of a medical college, technical and engineering universities under the education emergency in Fata. Besides, he added, a comprehensive financial package should be announced to reconstruct the damaged infrastructure in tribal region.
He also demanded 40 seats for Fata in KP Assembly and rightful share in National Finance Commission (NFC) Award as well as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
PTI workers join JI
A group of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf activists led by Farid Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) former candidate for PK-7 Peshawar have parted ways with his party and announced joining Jamaat-e-Islami(JI) on Saturday.
Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club, Khan said that he had been associated with PTI since June 1999 and played an active role in strengthening the party. He said the party had raised a slogan to strive for provision of justice and resolution of the problems being faced by poor people but its government failed to materialise its claims.
Flanked by JI Peshawar district ameer and former MNA Sabir Hussain Awan, and former provincial minister Hafiz Hashmat, he said that PTI-led provincial government had forgotten the party’s manifesto and thus workers had started parting ways with it.
“One can easily judge PTI-led government’s performance from the ruined roads, clogged sewerage lines, daily blockade of traffic and shortage of clean drinking water in the provincial metropolis,” he complained.
Awan condemned the crackdown against Pakhtuns by Punjab police and described it as a conspiracy to weaken foundations of the country. He said that Pakhtuns had played a vital role in Pakistan movement and were still working for protection of its borders and any illogical action against the people was wrong.
He urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to stop a crackdown against Pakhtuns and release the people to avoid spreading hatred. Otherwise, its effects would be very harmful for the country, he added.
