PTI slams Fazl, Achakzai for dilly-dallying on KP-FATA merger

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi criticised on Tuesday Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl chief Fazlur Rehman for refusing to acknowledge the Parliament’s supremacy in deciding on the merger of Khyber Pakhthunkwa and FATA.

Qureshi asked whether Fazl thinks a jirga is more important and should decide on the merger or the Parliament.

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Speaking to the media after the National Assembly session, Qureshi said that Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Achakzai was given the floor on the directions of “certain government quarters”.

“Achakzai should have at least listened to our stance; we would have also listened to what he had to say,” the PTI leader said, adding that he was not allowed to talk in the session on the issue.

He said that some forces wanted to maintain the status quo, slamming the ruling party for claiming to support merger but forwarding its allies to oppose it.

Earlier, Fazl reiterated his demand in the session and said that jirgas be included in the process, saying his stance of supporting the merger remains the same as it was in 2012.

“The conflict isn’t about the merger; it is about ensuring interests of the tribal people,” he said.

PM Abbasi calls FATA MNAs for talks as protesters gather near D-Chowk: sources

Residents of Fata want their rights as they have the same flag, country, and religion: JI ameer

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Monday called Fata MNAs for talks on reforms in the tribal areas as protesters gathered near Islamabad’s D-Chowk to demonstrate against the delay in the implementation of Fata reforms.

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Siraj-ul-Haq said the residents of Fata want their rights as they have the same flag, country, and religion.

He added that the residents of the tribal areas want one law applicable to the region and the abolishment of the oppressive Frontier Crimes Regulation law in place since the time of the British Raj.

Awami National Party’s Ghulam Ahmed Bilour said they were not sure why the merger of Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a key element of the reforms, was being delayed.