Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Bajaur MNA Shahabuddin Khan. PHOTO: facebook.com/shahabuddin.khan.31
“A meeting was held last week in Islamabad in this respect,” Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Bajaur MNA Shahabuddin Khan told The Express Tribune on Wednesday. “We want a six-point charter to be fulfilled. Until that is done, the affairs of Fata should be handed over to us – the elected representatives of Fata.”
Charter of demands
Speaking to The Express Tribune, FATA Lawyers Forum President Ijaz Mohmand said they are drafting a reforms bill that encompasses their demands.
“Lawmakers want Fata to either be merged with Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) so that they can gain adequate representation on the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly or be declared a separate province,” he said.
Lawmakers have also agreed on other demands and signed a related document in Islamabad.
A majority of these demands include respectable return of the displaced population, reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure in war-ravaged areas and Fata’s share in the National Finance Commission and Indus River System Authority.
as it is a route tax that is usually required from traders.
The lawmakers want to do away with Rahadari because it operates on a permit obtained from the political administration and the military. As a result, the money goes to the personal accounts of bureaucrats.
Sticking points
According to Mohmand, these demands have been repeatedly put forward in the past.
Amendments to Clause 7 of Article 247 of the Constitution is a major point of contention. The clause states neither the Supreme Court nor a high court has any jurisdiction over the tribal areas unless the Parliament provides it.
An amendment has been demanded so that lawmakers in the region have some authority over the laws that govern Fata. Moreover, requisite changes in the law will also allow the superior judiciary to obtain jurisdiction over the tribal areas.
Consensus
The approval on the bill has been taken from the Senate, K-P Assembly and high court bar and Supreme Court Bar associations.
The six-point charter has been signed by MNAs from PML-N, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and even independent ones; and now the draft would be tabled in the upcoming session of the National Assembly.
When contacted, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Aisha Gulalai, who also hails from Fata, said that she welcomes the demands and will render every possible support. She also suggested that women in Fata should have reserved seats in both houses of Parliament.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 3rd, 2015.
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