Citizens of FATA want to maintain separate identity, says tribal council after meeting PM

ISLAMABAD: The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) supreme council on Wednesday held a meeting with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and said that the citizens of the region want to maintain their separate identity.

The matter of FATA's merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) was left unresolved after the meeting. However, the tribal areas' supreme council and the government agreed to continue deliberations on the matter.

The issue of FATA's merger with KP is one of the pending matters for the incumbent government and has dominated the political discourse of the country in recent weeks.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday had conditionally agreed to support the proposal of FATA's merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and said that further consultations for the FATA Reforms Bill will continue to be held.

“We will continue to hold discussions with the government over FATA Reforms Bill,” Rehman had said, adding that additional meetings with the military leadership will not be required. 

"We presented our stance to them which was to gain the approval of the FATA supreme council," he said. "Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi agreed to our request to meet the supreme council and try to get them to agree on the matter." 

More than 500 tribal elders had held a grand jirga on December 14 and rejected the possible merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The elders, hailing from the tribal areas, were of the opinion that FATA should be given the status of a separate province.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa had also recently assured delegations from FATA that the Pakistan Army fully supports mainstreaming of the region in line with aspirations of tribal brothers.

Army fully supports mainstreaming of FATA: Gen Bajwa

COAS lauded tribal elders, youth for their determination and support to the Pakistan Army

General Bajwa had said he valued the views of the tribal delegations regarding the future of FATA. He added that achievements through sacrifices of brave residents of FATA are being consolidated while the country transitions from relative stability to enduring peace.

The recommendations to bring the tribal areas at par with the rest of the country were approved by the federal cabinet on March 2 but the matter has been delayed since then.

The KP Assembly had adopted a resolution on December 14, 2016 in favour of merging FATA with KP with the aim of rehabilitating and reconstructing the infrastructure including roads, communications, power lines, water supply, education and health facilities.