Convention urges government to implement Fata reforms

The leading and prominent tribal elders and parliamentarians on Monday called upon the government to immediately implement the Fata reforms with a view to merge the tribal areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and do away with 100 years old draconian laws - Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR).
A grand tribal jirga titled 'Haqooq-e-Qabail Convention' was held here at Convention Centre to push the government for ensuring the early implementation on the recommendations of Parliamentary Committee on FATA Reforms, which has recommended merger of the tribal areas and Frontier Regions into the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In a joint declaration issued at the conclusion of the convention, the participants also including parliamentarians from FATA, endorsed the report of the reforms' committee headed by Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and urged the Prime Minister to immediately implement the reforms so that the tribal areas are brought at par with rest of the country.
It also warned that people of the tribal areas will be forced to hold a march towards Islamabad next month if the recommendations are not implemented forthwith. It also demanded that temporarily dislocated persons of the tribal areas are sent back to their homes with dignity on immediate basis and an economic package of Rs 2.5 million per family should also be announced.
The tribal jirga [assembly] also called upon the government to immediately hold local government elections in tribal areas, besides giving proper representation to FATA in the upcoming general elections of 2018 in the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
It also called upon the government to ensure giving a six percent share in National Finance Commission (NFC) to FATA instead of three percent given the devastation caused by militancy and poverty. It also demanded a comprehensive economic package for tribal areas, besides ensuring special focus on job opportunities for the youth of FATA.
The convention also demanded that FATA should be declared a tax-free zone and other economic opportunities should also be created for the people of tribal areas who are the worst victim of terrorism. It also demanded that youth of FATA should also be included in the Prime Minister's laptop scheme.
The convention was addressed by Shah Jee Gul Afridi, MNA from Khyber Agency and parliamentary leader of FATA in National Assembly, Sajid Hussain Turi, MNA from Kurram Agency, Shahab Ud Din Khan, PML-N MNA from Bajaur Agency, Muhammad Nazir Khan, PML-N MNA from North Waziristan, Bismillah Khan, MNA from Bajaur Agency, Ghazi Gulab Jamal, MNA from Orakzai Agency, and PPPP's former MNA from Bajaur Agency Akhwanzada Chitan. A large number of tribesmen as well as political and social figures from FATA participated in the convention.