PESHAWAR: All Political Parties Alliance, Fata, has opposed the idea to run the affairs of Federally Administered Tribal Areas by the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Safron) and demanded an immediate enactment of a bill regarding merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, the alliance president Nisar Mohmand said that the bill moved by the Fata parliamentarians for the merger was backed by the entire tribal population, but the federal government was using delaying tactics to accept the demand.

Mr Nisar, who represents Awami National Party in the alliance, said that a constitutional amendment bill for merger of Fata with Khyber Pal
Flanked by JI Fata chief Sardar Khan, Fata Lawyers Forum president Ejaz Mohmand, PTI tribal leader Iqbal Afridi, JI activist Zarnoor Afridi and others, Mr Nisar said that some people were creating hurdles to passage of the bill to stop Fata from becoming part of the mainstream.

In response to a demand raised by the JUI-F regarding holding a referendum in Fata, he said that nearly 90 per cent of the tribal people wanted merger of Fata with KP.

He said that referendum was not a workable idea as there was no constitutional provision to hold referendum on the status of Fata.

He claimed that certain people were trying to avoid the Fata-KP merger for their vested interests.

Sardar Khan said that tribesmen had been facing enormous difficulties due to the Frontier Crimes Regulation.

He said that Fata had intentionally been kept backward in all fields, adding that education and health infrastructure was completely destroyed in the tribal region. He said that Fata was also ignored in the NFC award.

`The government must scrap the British era law to restore peace in Fata,` the alliance leader said. He, however, asked the government that if FCR was a good law then it should be implemented across the country. He said that the people wanted abolition of FCR to get their fundamental rights.

Zarnoor Afridi also demanded immediate abolition of FCR and a comprehensive compensation package for the damage caused during the military operations in tribal areas.

He said that the tribal people should be given proper representation in the Khyber Pakhtunlchwa Assembly.

He said that jurisdiction of the superior courts should be extended to the tribal belt, which would ensure protection of fundamental rights of the people.

He also urged the government to take practical steps for providing employment opportunities to the tribal youth.