Parliamentarians laud signing of Fata bill into law by President

Parliamentarians belonging to tribal areas on Monday lauded the signing of Fata reforms bill into law by the President aimed at merging the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Speaking at a joint news conference, Minister of State for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Ghalib Wazir, MNA Sajid Hussain Turi, Senator Mirza Afridi and others, thanked all the political parties of the country by supporting the bill and fulfilling the 70 years old longstanding demand of the people of Fata.
After the passage from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly on Sunday, President Mamnoon Hussain on Monday signed the 31st constitutional amendment bill into law which would be enforced at once.
"It is a historic day in the history of Pakistan, as we have now given identity to our people of tribal areas and gave their due rights," said Ghalib Wazir.
While highlighting the prominent features of the Reforms package, he said that the century old draconian laws, Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR), has now been abolished while jurisdiction of Supreme Court and Peshawar High Court will be extended to the tribal areas.
He further said that besides the appropriate share in the NFC, the tribal areas would also be given an additional Rs 100 billion per year for the coming 10 years for the development of the areas.
Sajid Hussain Turi while speaking appreciated the role of all political parties and other State institutions for their support to the Reforms.
He said that now the time has reached that the neglected areas of the country are brought at far with rest of the country.
Senator Mirza Afridi said that the people of Fata has welcomed the decision of the parliament, adding that all the political parties and other relevant stakeholders should play their part for the social and economic uplift of the tribal areas.
He said that the people of Fata have rendered countless sacrifices in the war against terrorism and now it is the time to work for their social and economic development.