Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly asks federal government to give Fata people representatio

[DaMalakandGhar]

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution asking the federal government to give representation to the people of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) in the KP assembly with the consent of the people of the areas.

KP Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Arshad Abdullah moved the resolution, which suggested the government to treat the Fata inhabitants at par with other citizen of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and abolish the newly constituted Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) Tribunal and to establish a proper judicial Forum.
The resolution also demanded deletion of clause (7) of Article 247 of the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan being violative of fundamental rights of the citizen of the area and extend the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and High Court to the areas.

Before moving the resolution, the minister paid tribute to the services of Fata Lawyers Forum, Legal fraternity, political forces and others for their struggle for independent judiciary.

After the creation of Pakistan 1947, he said the Fata was used as buffer zone and its inhabitants were deprived of basic rights.

He said the entire areas and tribes were being controlled through FCR and no one could challenge the decision of the political authorities in any court of law.
Terming it a ray of hope for the tribal and stepping stone for the future of those people, Arshad Abdullah said they were suggesting the federal government to amend the constitution with the consent of the people of tribal areas.

Speaking on the resolution Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao, the parliamentary leader of PPP-Sherpo, said tribal people had been deprived of their rights for the last 65 years.
Earlier they suffered due to international forces' games, which destroyed their economy.

He said the time has come to collectively think, take practical steps for bringing reforms and compensate the past mistakes.

Terming tribal as their brothers, he said this issue should not be politicized.

He said instead of offering lip services, comprehensive planning should be made for giving tribal their rights.

He deplored the federal government did not pay proper attention, which should have been given to them.

Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) lawmakers walked out from the proceedings when the acting speaker Khushdil Khan advocate suggested Mufti Kifyatullah to cut short his speech on resolution.

The JUI-F, however, ended their boycott when persuaded by Law Minister Arshad Abdullah, Sikandar Sherpao and others.

Mufti Kifyatullah terming tribal as true Muslims with their own tradition, asked the government to take every step and decision with the consent of the tribal.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Inayatullah Jadoon, PPP-S's Israrullah Gandapur, independent Habibullah Tanoli, PML-Q's Qalandar Lodhi, ANP's Saqib Chamkani, PML-L likeminded Wajihuzzaman supported the resolution saying there was no harm in making recommending to the federal government.

Senior minister Bashir Bilour said the British had divided Pakhtun in Fata, Pata, Frontier Region (FR) and settled areas for their own vested interests.

He said they did not want to impose decisions on Fata and would take every step with their consent.

http://www.brecorder.com/general-news/172/1186896/

[DaMalakandGhar]

KP lawmakers demand FATA representation in PA

* Adopt resolution calling on federal govt to amend constitution to give Tribal Areas representation in provincial assembly

Staff Report

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa legislators passed on Monday a resolution calling on President Asif Ali Zardari and the federal government to amend the constitution to give people of Tribal Areas representation in the provincial legislative assembly.

The resolution, tabled by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Law Minister Arshad Abdullah, was not opposed and the move could pave the way for bringing a change in the governance system in Tribal Areas, where al Qaeda and their local harbourers have set up safe havens to wage war against Pakistan and foreign forces in Afghanistan. The resolution was drafted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa law minister in the presence of a large number of lawyers belonging to FATA.

“This assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through the provincial government hereby recommends to the president and the federal government to ensure that people of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) should fully enjoy the protection and equality under and before the law,” the resolution said.

It said the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and high court should be extended to the tribal areas governed through special laws that human rights activists dismissed as “gross violation” of fundamental rights of the tribal people.

No political party opposed the resolution that the ruling Awami National Party (ANP) had since long been advocating – that the tribal areas should be merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and that the tribal people should be given representation in the provincial assembly.

The resolution recommended to President Asif Ali Zardari to delete clause 7 of Article 247 of the constitution and abolish recently promulgated Frontier Crimes Regulation Tribunal and provide the tribal people with proper judicial forum where they seek cheap and quick justice.

If approved as demanded, observers say, the resolution would pave the way for fundamental changes in the governance mechanism being used in Tribal Areas along the border with Afghanistan and where the writ of the state has been seriously challenged after 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

The tribal people, however, stand divided over the issue of being merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as one school of thought supports the idea, while the other demands separate status of province.

The opposition-led amendment to the resolution was allowed and it read that the people of Tribal Areas should be given representation in the provincial assembly with their consent. Pakistan People’s Party (Sherpao) MPA Sikander Sherpao said the tribal people should be consulted as to whether they wanted to leave the colonial-era governance system behind.

“Instead of making changes one by one, we need to change the system once and for all,” he said while taking part in the discussion on the resolution. “We need to resolve the FATA issue once instead of visiting it time and again.”

[badmash_khel]

This could be counter productive. One of the reasons why the peole of FATA have not been influenced by Pakistani culture and ideology (bullsh!t) is that they are isolated and not part of the state structure. By including them in the state which only gives empty promises the youth could be brainwashed by pakistaniyat. I support more autonomy, more money, better infrastructure, seperate parliment and pashto as the only official language for FATA. No Urdu in FATA like the rest of KP.