Chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Saturday categorically warned the government against merging Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa without consulting people of the area and their representative Jirga.
Addressing a gathering of a large number of people from Fata here at Jinnah Avenue, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the government can amend the Constitution through Parliament and force the tribal elders into submission, but nobody can impose a decision on the people of tribal areas.
Fazlur Rehman also criticized the government without naming anybody, saying, "If you want to make us slaves to the United States, you should tell us clearly." He said that he would not allow anybody to sell the nation to the US and the government must listen to the genuine demands of the tribal people.
He boasted that he was sent to jail during the regime of General Pervez Musharraf (retd) and he would not hesitate going to jail again, but would not let it occur that his people lead a life of slavery. The JUI-F chief said that people of the tribal areas have been fighting for their independence throughout the history and they want to maintain their independence now too.
He said the tribal people had waged jihad against the colonial forces as their elders had taught them to live an independent life and never accept fiefdom of any shape and form of a foreign force. Criticizing General Pervez Musharraf (retd) for his decision to become a coalition partner of the United States in war against terrorism, he said that Musharraf bowed before the US but he (Fazl) has still been fighting against American occupation in Afghanistan and its attempts to exert influence in the region.
A large number of people from the tribal areas including religious clerics gathered on the Jinnah Avenue under the banner of Fata Supreme Council to protest against the government's decision of merging the tribal areas with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province before 2018 general elections. Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai have, however, been opposing the government's decision for the merger as they are in favor of an independent status of the Fata.
They have also been advising the government to seek opinion of the tribal people through a referendum before deciding their fate. The federal government included the Fata Reforms Bill in agenda of the National Assembly in its recent session, but this was withdrawn before tabling it in the House for a vote.
All opposition parties in the Lower House jointly decided to press the government to bring the bill in the House for vote, but the government could not honor its commitment to table the bill for vote. The joint opposition in the National Assembly kept walking out of the House during the entire session in protest against the government's decision of not tabling the bill while the government also failed to take up the routine agenda during the whole session due to lack of the quorum.
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