NA paves way for Fata to enter mainstream fold

National Assembly Thursday passed a constitutional amendment to merge Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province amid opposition by two government allied parties - Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP). The government required a two-third majority to pass the 'Constitution (Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, 2018,' but it could hardly muster 229 votes against the required 228 votes in the House, despite having support of all opposition parties including Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan.
Speaking on the floor of National Assembly after the passage of bill, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi thanked the opposition parties for supporting the legislation. "The passage of this bill shows that all issues of public importance can be addressed by developing national consensus," he said, adding that lack of development in the tribal areas would also be addressed.
The Prime Minister said that all relevant things have been addressed in the bill; so that nobody could delay the elections on its pretext. He said the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will augur well for development of the tribal areas and the whole country, adding that around Rs 100 billion development funds need to be allocated for the area.
The Prime Minister said that development funds would be utilized for establishment of hospitals and educational institutions in the tribal area. The bill will become a law after it is passed by a two-third majority by the Senate and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly. According to the bill, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will have 21 additional seats from FATA including sixteen general seats, four seats for women and one seat for non-Muslims, provided that elections to the aforesaid seats shall be held within one year after the general elections 2018.
The National Assembly seats of FATA will be reduced from 12 to six while members elected from the area in general election 2018 shall continue till dissolution of the assembly while reducing the total number of seats from 342 to 336. Likewise, total seats of the Senate will stand reduced from 104 to 96 after the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The bill also envisages that provincially administered tribal areas will also be merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Chairman PTI Imran Khan also attended the session to vote for the bill. Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, he suggested that a committee should be constituted to ensure the implementation. Khan said that it is neither feasible nor practical to make the FATA a separate province; therefore, the best option is to merge the tribal area with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. He said that there is need to address grievances of the tribal people, adding that people should be empowered through the local government system.
The PTI chairman also reiterated his party's position about rigging in 2013 elections, adding that it was their right being an opposition party to pursue money laundering cases against Nawaz Sharif. Responding to it, the Prime Minister said the people know about all these issues and there was no need of raising this issue on this historic day.
After passage of the bill, Leader of Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah raised the issue of water scarcity in Sindh and urged the Prime Minister to look into it. He said that water should be distributed among the provinces as per the 1991 water accord. The Prime Minister responded that he is ready to review the water sharing process of Indus River System Authority (IRSA) or he can convene a meeting of Council of Common Interests (CCI) to address the issue.
Opposing the bill, JUI-F member from FATA Jamal Uddin termed the FATA-KP merger as a "black day," adding that the government had allocated Rs 100 billion for FATA in the last year budget but released only Rs 10 billion out of it. He said that the government should have sought opinion of the tribal people through a referendum before deciding about their fate.
PkMAP legislator Abdul Qahar Wadan said that the FATA should be given a status of separate province with its own council instead of merging it with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that as per formula of the National Finance Commission Award, the FATA should get at least Rs 120 billion annual budget but the government has failed to fulfill its promise of development in the area.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly also passed six bills including: The Banks (Nationalization) (Amendment) Bill, 2018; The Investment Corporation of Pakistan (Repeal) Bill 2018; The SBP Banking Services Corporation (amendment) Bill 2017; The Loans for Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Purposes (amendment) Bill 2017; The Joint Maritime Information Organization Bill 2018; and The Evening Courts Bill 2017. The House also unanimously passed a resolution to express dismay over tragic shooting incident at Santa Fe High School in the United States which claimed the life of Sabika Aziz Sheikh.