KP to become second largest province with Fata's merger: Afridi

Member National Assembly (MNA) from Khyber Agency Shah Ji Gul Afridi has said that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa would become second largest province after merger of Fata and would have relatively big share in the NFC Award. Addressing a press conference at his residence in the tribal Khyber Agency, Shah Ji said the status of second largest province and due share in the NFC award would remove sense of deprivation among the tribal. He also urged the tribesmen to join hands with Jamaat-e-Islami for elimination of the FCR form FATA and get a new status for them.
"There is no provision for a separate Fata province in the Constitution of Pakistan," he said, asking where the proponents of separate province had been when the Fata people were living the life of internally displaced people (IDPs). He said the JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman was using FATA for vested interest. He said such elements would face resistance inside and outside the assembly. Shah Ji said people of FATA are aware of their rights and they would continue to raise their voice to attain due rights. He said privileged people are opposing the reforms but they are destined to fail. He said the tribal people would soon hear good news. "FCR deprives the tribal people of their basic human rights. It is high time for tribesmen to get rid of it," he said, urging the opponents to rescind their unnecessary opposition and let the tribal belt become part of mainstream.
Meanwhile, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Fata chapter chief Sardar Khan told the media at a press conference at Al-Markaz Islami in Peshawar that all the arrangements were finalised for the grand jirga. He said the JI would stage another sit-in in Islamabad for an indefinite period if the government failed to implement the reforms. He alleged the federal government was creating hurdles in way of Fata-KP integration. He said FCR Act has to be nullified to provide all fundamental rights of people of Fata. He said that from day one JI was striving for abrogation of the black law of Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) that had been enforced in Fata for last one century.