Kabira
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what happened here?
With Fazal Diesel out of the way it looks like FATA merger is inevitable now?Political reforms in Newly Merged Districts of FATA-News,Updated and discussions
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what happened here?
With Fazal Diesel out of the way it looks like FATA merger is inevitable now?
saiyan0321
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what happened here?
Rumors are he has agreed but one never knows. No doubt with diesel taking a hike the pro merger elders and the rest if the politicians will make sure the merger happens.
Kabira
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amazing, Fazlur Rehman isn't having any of it.
In dealing with PPP, govt gives JUI-F chief cold shoulder
ISLAMABAD: The government has given its staunchest political ally the cold shoulder after it sought to cash in on the tiff between the PML-N and the PPP, The Express Tribune has learnt.
Not long ago, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of his eponymous faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, had offered his services to win over the PPP, but the PML-N top cadres refused to assign him the role.
PPP insiders claim government willing to talk
Sources say the PML-N leadership knew that in return the JUI-F would seek favours to pursue its interests in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – something not acceptable to the ruling party.
The JUI-F eyes the lion’s share in recruitments in the tribal region. It also seeks a hefty amount in the name of development funds, important appointments in the government departments and ministries and a significant quota for Umrah operators in the religious affairs ministry.
“They complain that ‘we are part of the government and we support you, but you don’t support us in a big way’,” a federal minister told The Express Tribune requesting anonymity. “Stakes are high, they want more than their share.”
Insiders say the politico-religious cleric had met PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and opposition leader Khursheed Shah ahead of the Dec 27 deadline set by the PPP for the acceptance of its four demands, and assured them that he would help in extracting concessions for the PPP in the backdrop of the prevailing situation in Karachi.
The issue, sources say, figured high in Fazl’s meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last Tuesday. Reportedly, the JUI-F chief conveyed a reconciliatory message to Premier Sharif on Zardari’s behalf.
Contrary to the reports suggesting the possibility of backdoor contacts between the PML-N and the PPP, Fazl was told that there would be no concessions as far as Karachi was concerned and that the security establishment and government were in agreement over taking on terrorism in Karachi.
“It was politically embarrassing for Fazl that he came to the forefront as a ‘mediator’ between the two parties but failed to make an impact,” said the minister.
The JUI-F chief has denied his efforts to mediate between the PML-N and PPP were more of a bargaining chip to secure the JUI-F interests.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Fazl said a host of issues were discussed in his meeting with Premier Sharif. Without elaborating, he said ‘important’ issues came under discussion.
“The government-PPP confrontation is not the only issue on earth. There are several issues concerning the JUI-F and our relationship with the federal government. Everything came under discussion.”
Fazl also denied Premier Sharif had tasked him to facilitate backdoor contacts with the PPP. “I don’t believe in secret meet-ups. I’m not anybody’s middleman.”
The cleric said his party enjoyed cordial relations with the PML-N and the PPP. “So in this context, if there is a common ground to resolve issues, what’s wrong with that? But if things don’t work, never mind. Every political party has its own set of priorities and political interests,” he said without offering a direct response on the issue.
Sources believe the JUI-F’s limited support base explains the PML-N’s lack of reliance on the party. “We have an active political presence in K-P to take care of our interests and to counter the PTI instead of relying on the JUI-F,” said a PML-N lawmaker from K-P.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2017.
In dealing with PPP, govt gives JUI-F chief cold shoulder
ISLAMABAD: The government has given its staunchest political ally the cold shoulder after it sought to cash in on the tiff between the PML-N and the PPP, The Express Tribune has learnt.
Not long ago, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of his eponymous faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, had offered his services to win over the PPP, but the PML-N top cadres refused to assign him the role.
PPP insiders claim government willing to talk
Sources say the PML-N leadership knew that in return the JUI-F would seek favours to pursue its interests in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa – something not acceptable to the ruling party.
The JUI-F eyes the lion’s share in recruitments in the tribal region. It also seeks a hefty amount in the name of development funds, important appointments in the government departments and ministries and a significant quota for Umrah operators in the religious affairs ministry.
“They complain that ‘we are part of the government and we support you, but you don’t support us in a big way’,” a federal minister told The Express Tribune requesting anonymity. “Stakes are high, they want more than their share.”
Insiders say the politico-religious cleric had met PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and opposition leader Khursheed Shah ahead of the Dec 27 deadline set by the PPP for the acceptance of its four demands, and assured them that he would help in extracting concessions for the PPP in the backdrop of the prevailing situation in Karachi.
The issue, sources say, figured high in Fazl’s meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last Tuesday. Reportedly, the JUI-F chief conveyed a reconciliatory message to Premier Sharif on Zardari’s behalf.
Contrary to the reports suggesting the possibility of backdoor contacts between the PML-N and the PPP, Fazl was told that there would be no concessions as far as Karachi was concerned and that the security establishment and government were in agreement over taking on terrorism in Karachi.
“It was politically embarrassing for Fazl that he came to the forefront as a ‘mediator’ between the two parties but failed to make an impact,” said the minister.
The JUI-F chief has denied his efforts to mediate between the PML-N and PPP were more of a bargaining chip to secure the JUI-F interests.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Fazl said a host of issues were discussed in his meeting with Premier Sharif. Without elaborating, he said ‘important’ issues came under discussion.
“The government-PPP confrontation is not the only issue on earth. There are several issues concerning the JUI-F and our relationship with the federal government. Everything came under discussion.”
Fazl also denied Premier Sharif had tasked him to facilitate backdoor contacts with the PPP. “I don’t believe in secret meet-ups. I’m not anybody’s middleman.”
The cleric said his party enjoyed cordial relations with the PML-N and the PPP. “So in this context, if there is a common ground to resolve issues, what’s wrong with that? But if things don’t work, never mind. Every political party has its own set of priorities and political interests,” he said without offering a direct response on the issue.
Sources believe the JUI-F’s limited support base explains the PML-N’s lack of reliance on the party. “We have an active political presence in K-P to take care of our interests and to counter the PTI instead of relying on the JUI-F,” said a PML-N lawmaker from K-P.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2017.
saiyan0321
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ISLAMABAD: All hurdles in the way of the proposed merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been removed as all parliamentary parties have given their consent to the plan.
The process of bringing Fata under the administrative control of the KP government will begin after approval of the plan by the federal cabinet which is likely to meet next week.
Earlier, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) expressed their reservations over the merger, but the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government managed to persuade the two parties for the plan. The PML-N, Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Jamaat-i-Islami have demanded immediate merger of Fata with KP.
“We have removed all the bottlenecks which came in the way of implementation of merger of Fata with KP,” Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch told Dawn on Friday after a meeting of the Fata reforms committee, headed by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, with President Mamnoon Hussain at the presidency.
Mr Baloch, who is a member of the five-member committee, briefed the president on the Fata reforms.
The committee was formed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Nov 8, 2016, to finalise reforms in the tribal areas. It had submitted to the prime minister as well as the National Assembly a report on the Fata reforms recommending the merge of Fata with KP for a transition period of five years.
But the cabinet deferred implementation on the report on Dec 16 and the prime minister asked the committee to seek consensus of all the stakeholders and remove reservations of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PkMAP leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai over the proposed reforms package.
Besides the merger of Fata with KP, a 10-year development package of Rs121 billion has also been allocated for the tribal areas.
“We have addressed the concern of JUI-F and PkMAP,” Mr Baloch said but did not elaborate. He said the Fata reforms report would be presented before the cabinet again for approval.
“Implementation of Fata reforms is a matter of few days as the federal cabinet will meet next week to give final nod to the merger plan and reforms package,” he added.
Fata is being governed by the British-era law called Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) Act which legal experts say is a violation of universal human rights and contradicts the 1973 Constitution.
The people of the area have also raised their voices against what they called the black law. In the past, several committees were formed to reform the FCR, but they failed to do so.
The president’s spokesman said that during the meeting President Hussain praised the committee members for framing comprehensive Fata reforms in consultation with all stakeholders and called for early implementation of the recommendations for transforming the lives of the tribal people.
KP Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Abdul Qadir Baloch, Minister for Law Zahid Hamid and other senior officials attended the meeting.
Earlier, Maulana Fazl alleged that the committee had violated its mandate as it was tasked with proposing reforms for political mainstreaming of Fata, and not to suggest its merger with the province.
The National Assembly was recently informed that 15 different attempts had been made to streamline the tribal region, but each time the people at the helm of affairs backed out when it came to implementation.
Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2017
https://www.dawn.com/news/1306960/parliamentary-parties-give-consent-to-fata-merger-plan
Read " reservations " of JUI-F and PKMAP as better accomodations and deals in the name of politics. All they wanted was somebody to stuff something in their mouth and N did.
The process of bringing Fata under the administrative control of the KP government will begin after approval of the plan by the federal cabinet which is likely to meet next week.
Earlier, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) expressed their reservations over the merger, but the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government managed to persuade the two parties for the plan. The PML-N, Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Jamaat-i-Islami have demanded immediate merger of Fata with KP.
“We have removed all the bottlenecks which came in the way of implementation of merger of Fata with KP,” Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch told Dawn on Friday after a meeting of the Fata reforms committee, headed by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, with President Mamnoon Hussain at the presidency.
Mr Baloch, who is a member of the five-member committee, briefed the president on the Fata reforms.
The committee was formed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Nov 8, 2016, to finalise reforms in the tribal areas. It had submitted to the prime minister as well as the National Assembly a report on the Fata reforms recommending the merge of Fata with KP for a transition period of five years.
But the cabinet deferred implementation on the report on Dec 16 and the prime minister asked the committee to seek consensus of all the stakeholders and remove reservations of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PkMAP leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai over the proposed reforms package.
Besides the merger of Fata with KP, a 10-year development package of Rs121 billion has also been allocated for the tribal areas.
“We have addressed the concern of JUI-F and PkMAP,” Mr Baloch said but did not elaborate. He said the Fata reforms report would be presented before the cabinet again for approval.
“Implementation of Fata reforms is a matter of few days as the federal cabinet will meet next week to give final nod to the merger plan and reforms package,” he added.
Fata is being governed by the British-era law called Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) Act which legal experts say is a violation of universal human rights and contradicts the 1973 Constitution.
The people of the area have also raised their voices against what they called the black law. In the past, several committees were formed to reform the FCR, but they failed to do so.
The president’s spokesman said that during the meeting President Hussain praised the committee members for framing comprehensive Fata reforms in consultation with all stakeholders and called for early implementation of the recommendations for transforming the lives of the tribal people.
KP Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Abdul Qadir Baloch, Minister for Law Zahid Hamid and other senior officials attended the meeting.
Earlier, Maulana Fazl alleged that the committee had violated its mandate as it was tasked with proposing reforms for political mainstreaming of Fata, and not to suggest its merger with the province.
The National Assembly was recently informed that 15 different attempts had been made to streamline the tribal region, but each time the people at the helm of affairs backed out when it came to implementation.
Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2017
https://www.dawn.com/news/1306960/parliamentary-parties-give-consent-to-fata-merger-plan
Read " reservations " of JUI-F and PKMAP as better accomodations and deals in the name of politics. All they wanted was somebody to stuff something in their mouth and N did.
Kabira
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Fata PML-N plans protest against delay in reforms
KHAR: The PML-N, Fata chapter, has decided to launch a protest movement against the delay in introduction of the proposed reforms in Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
The announcement was made by PML-N lawmaker from Bajaur Agency, Shahabuddin Khan, while talking to media persons here on Saturday.
He said that the decision to start a protest movement against the delay in introduction of proposed reforms was taken during a meeting of senior leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Fata, a few days ago.
He said that PML-N MNA from South Waziristan, Ghalib Khan advocate and senior leaders from the entire tribal areas participated in the meeting.
Giving details, Mr Shahabuddin said that almost all participants had expressed their concern over the delay in implementation of the proposed reforms package.
He said that the reforms package had been recommended by the Fata reforms committee several months ago. He said that the protest would be most likely launched from Jan 15. He said that protest was the best option for the tribesmen to get their rights.
Mr Shahabuddin said that the PML-N Fata workers were optimistic that the protest would achieve its objectives and the colonial era governance system would be replaced with regular laws of the country in the tribal areas.
However, he clarified that the protest was intended to show that majority of the people in tribal areas was in favour of the proposed reforms.
Mr Khan said that the Fata PML-N workers had been advised to speed up their efforts to make the protest a success.
He said that in this regard a public meeting would be held on Jan 10 in Peshawar. He said that senior leaders of PML-N and other parties would also attend the meeting.
Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2017
KHAR: The PML-N, Fata chapter, has decided to launch a protest movement against the delay in introduction of the proposed reforms in Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
The announcement was made by PML-N lawmaker from Bajaur Agency, Shahabuddin Khan, while talking to media persons here on Saturday.
He said that the decision to start a protest movement against the delay in introduction of proposed reforms was taken during a meeting of senior leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Fata, a few days ago.
He said that PML-N MNA from South Waziristan, Ghalib Khan advocate and senior leaders from the entire tribal areas participated in the meeting.
Giving details, Mr Shahabuddin said that almost all participants had expressed their concern over the delay in implementation of the proposed reforms package.
He said that the reforms package had been recommended by the Fata reforms committee several months ago. He said that the protest would be most likely launched from Jan 15. He said that protest was the best option for the tribesmen to get their rights.
Mr Shahabuddin said that the PML-N Fata workers were optimistic that the protest would achieve its objectives and the colonial era governance system would be replaced with regular laws of the country in the tribal areas.
However, he clarified that the protest was intended to show that majority of the people in tribal areas was in favour of the proposed reforms.
Mr Khan said that the Fata PML-N workers had been advised to speed up their efforts to make the protest a success.
He said that in this regard a public meeting would be held on Jan 10 in Peshawar. He said that senior leaders of PML-N and other parties would also attend the meeting.
Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2017
Naheed Janjua
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giving rights to the fata people is a very important part of a democracy. They need to get their resources better roads and infrastructure. Their women need to be given the rights that all women should have in this day and age including right to vote .
saiyan0321
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The federal cabinet on Thursday approved the recommendations put forth by a reforms committee to bring the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) in the mainstream, Radio Pakistan reported.
The cabinet had met in Islamabad with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the chair.
Speaking at the meeting, PM Sharif had stressed the need to focus on underdeveloped areas with the aim to improve the living standards of people.
"The time has come that the tribal people will be brought into [the] mainstream to end their sense of deprivation," the reported quoted him as saying.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD
The premier also said the people of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and Fata will be given their due share from national resources.
The approved recommendations
Later in the day, Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz shed light on the recommendations approved in the cabinet meeting.
He said the premier "approved in principle to the recommendations of the committee to mainstream Fata in five years in consultation with different stakeholders of the area".
Provisions will be made through a constitutional amendment to enable the people of Fata to elect their representatives to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in the 2018 elections, said Aziz.
The Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) will also be repealed and replaced by the new Riwaj Regulation for Tribal Areas, in which provisions related to collective responsibility will be omitted, thereby making an individual responsible only for his own acts.
He further said that the National Finance Commission would be requested to consider allocating 3% of the gross federal divisible pool on an annual basis for the implementation of the Fata Development Plan. This would be in addition to the existing allotment of Rs21 billion from the annual Public Sector Development Programme.
The recommendations also include the target date for repatriation of all IDPs, which is April 30 this year, while reconstruction activities in areas affected by military operations would also be completed by 2018.
The set of reforms were recommended by a six-member committee headed by Aziz.
For more details on the Fata reforms committee's initial recommendations, click here.
Political parties' support for the merger
The committee's report had earlier been removed at the eleventh hour from the agenda for the cabinet's Feb 7 meeting.
The decision had drawn strong criticism from supporters of the merger plan. Major political parties and Fata parliamentarians had announced a protest outside the Parliament on March 12 against the delay in approval of the committee's report.
The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) had also staged a sit-in outside the Governor’s House in Peshawar on Feb 26. The protest was called off only after Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra had assured that the cabinet would approve the committee's report before March 12.
Besides JI, other parties — including the Awami National Party, Qaumi Watan Party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the PPP — had demanded the immediate merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the abolition of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), and the representation of tribes in the KP Assembly.
However, the JUI-F and the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, another ally of the PML-N in the Centre, had opposed significant parts of the committee report, including the merger of Fata with KP.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had later claimed that he had reached an understanding with Prime Minister Sharif on Fata reforms. According to him, the word 'merger' would be replaced with the 'mainstreaming' of Fata.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1317961
ISLAMABAD: The recommendations to bring FATA at par with the rest of the country were approved at the Cabinet meeting on FATA reforms on Thursday.
According to sources, the recommendations will be presented in the Parliament.
At the meeting, it was decided the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) would be integrated with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The process will take five years as the law and order situation in the tribal areas is not favourable for major changes in the system.
Once FATA is made part of KP, the province's share in the National Finance Commission will increase, as 3% will be for the former.
While considering the additional allocation of funds for FATA, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stressed that all parts of Pakistan have equal rights on the resources of the country.
"Pakistan belongs to every Pakistani," he said. "Development of FATA is the responsibility of the entire nation and country."
Moreover, benches of the high court and Supreme Court will also be formed in the tribal areas.
To include tribespeople in the security services, 20,000 locals will be recruited in the levies force.
A 10-year plan will be made after which work will start on integrating Fata into KP, sources said.
It was also decided in the meeting that the Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) will be repealed after a constitutional amendment.
The federal cabinet met under the chairpersonship of the prime minister.
Ministry of State and Frontier Region Secretary Shahzad briefed the cabinet on recommendations for the FATA Reforms Committee. Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz was also in attendance on the occasion.
Aziz, who heads the FATA reforms committee, said that to bring FATA into national fold, a five-year programme has been devised.
For security purposes in the region, levies officials will be hired, he added.
Move appreciated
After the meeting, Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali Khan met media persons where he appreciated the Cabinet for taking up the report of the FATA Reforms Committee.
However, he expressed reservations over people from other provinces making decisions for FATA. Asfandyar said if parliamentarians from the Sindh Assembly can make decisions for Sindh and Baloch leaders can do the same for their provinces then why can FATA leaders not decide on the future of the tribal areas. "Why do policies for FATA come from outside?"
https://www.geo.tv/latest/132980-PM-chairs-meeting-of-federal-cabinet
@WAJsal @pakistani342
The cabinet had met in Islamabad with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the chair.
Speaking at the meeting, PM Sharif had stressed the need to focus on underdeveloped areas with the aim to improve the living standards of people.
"The time has come that the tribal people will be brought into [the] mainstream to end their sense of deprivation," the reported quoted him as saying.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD
The premier also said the people of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and Fata will be given their due share from national resources.
The approved recommendations
Later in the day, Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz shed light on the recommendations approved in the cabinet meeting.
He said the premier "approved in principle to the recommendations of the committee to mainstream Fata in five years in consultation with different stakeholders of the area".
Provisions will be made through a constitutional amendment to enable the people of Fata to elect their representatives to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in the 2018 elections, said Aziz.
The Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) will also be repealed and replaced by the new Riwaj Regulation for Tribal Areas, in which provisions related to collective responsibility will be omitted, thereby making an individual responsible only for his own acts.
He further said that the National Finance Commission would be requested to consider allocating 3% of the gross federal divisible pool on an annual basis for the implementation of the Fata Development Plan. This would be in addition to the existing allotment of Rs21 billion from the annual Public Sector Development Programme.
The recommendations also include the target date for repatriation of all IDPs, which is April 30 this year, while reconstruction activities in areas affected by military operations would also be completed by 2018.
The set of reforms were recommended by a six-member committee headed by Aziz.
For more details on the Fata reforms committee's initial recommendations, click here.
Political parties' support for the merger
The committee's report had earlier been removed at the eleventh hour from the agenda for the cabinet's Feb 7 meeting.
The decision had drawn strong criticism from supporters of the merger plan. Major political parties and Fata parliamentarians had announced a protest outside the Parliament on March 12 against the delay in approval of the committee's report.
The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) had also staged a sit-in outside the Governor’s House in Peshawar on Feb 26. The protest was called off only after Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra had assured that the cabinet would approve the committee's report before March 12.
Besides JI, other parties — including the Awami National Party, Qaumi Watan Party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the PPP — had demanded the immediate merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the abolition of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), and the representation of tribes in the KP Assembly.
However, the JUI-F and the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, another ally of the PML-N in the Centre, had opposed significant parts of the committee report, including the merger of Fata with KP.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had later claimed that he had reached an understanding with Prime Minister Sharif on Fata reforms. According to him, the word 'merger' would be replaced with the 'mainstreaming' of Fata.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1317961
ISLAMABAD: The recommendations to bring FATA at par with the rest of the country were approved at the Cabinet meeting on FATA reforms on Thursday.
According to sources, the recommendations will be presented in the Parliament.
At the meeting, it was decided the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) would be integrated with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The process will take five years as the law and order situation in the tribal areas is not favourable for major changes in the system.
Once FATA is made part of KP, the province's share in the National Finance Commission will increase, as 3% will be for the former.
While considering the additional allocation of funds for FATA, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stressed that all parts of Pakistan have equal rights on the resources of the country.
"Pakistan belongs to every Pakistani," he said. "Development of FATA is the responsibility of the entire nation and country."
Moreover, benches of the high court and Supreme Court will also be formed in the tribal areas.
To include tribespeople in the security services, 20,000 locals will be recruited in the levies force.
A 10-year plan will be made after which work will start on integrating Fata into KP, sources said.
It was also decided in the meeting that the Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) will be repealed after a constitutional amendment.
The federal cabinet met under the chairpersonship of the prime minister.
Ministry of State and Frontier Region Secretary Shahzad briefed the cabinet on recommendations for the FATA Reforms Committee. Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz was also in attendance on the occasion.
Aziz, who heads the FATA reforms committee, said that to bring FATA into national fold, a five-year programme has been devised.
For security purposes in the region, levies officials will be hired, he added.
Move appreciated
After the meeting, Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali Khan met media persons where he appreciated the Cabinet for taking up the report of the FATA Reforms Committee.
However, he expressed reservations over people from other provinces making decisions for FATA. Asfandyar said if parliamentarians from the Sindh Assembly can make decisions for Sindh and Baloch leaders can do the same for their provinces then why can FATA leaders not decide on the future of the tribal areas. "Why do policies for FATA come from outside?"
https://www.geo.tv/latest/132980-PM-chairs-meeting-of-federal-cabinet
@WAJsal @pakistani342
ghazi52
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Govt wants Fata mainstreaming by May 31: PM
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government desires to see implementation of the Fata reforms package — aimed at mainstreaming of the country’s tribal areas — before completion of its five-year term on May 31.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly at the fag end of the opening day of the budget discussion on Wednesday, the prime minister disclosed that the National Implementation Committee on Fata Reforms, which met earlier in the day, had taken a number of key decisions and finalised the “timeline” for various actions required to be taken for mainstreaming of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
Mr Abbasi, whose announcement overshadowed the nearly two-hour long budget speech of Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah, disclosed that he was coming directly to the house after attending the meetings of the Fata reforms committee and the National Security Committee and said he would soon take the parliamentary leaders into confidence on these decisions.
The prime minister said he wanted to have broad-based consultations on the issue of elections (for Fata representatives) of the National Assembly and the provincial assembly, hinting at the proposed merger of the tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Unanimous resolution in NA condemns PML-N ministers for using abusive language against PTI women; Khursheed Shah says opposition totally rejects budget
Amidst desk-thumping by the treasury members, Mr Abbasi announced that the Agency Development Fund had been abolished from today (Wednesday).
“We want to complete all the modalities within four weeks and all the parties should be on board in this regard as we want to do all this with consensus,” he said.
The prime minister’s speech was centred on consultations on the timeline for implementation of the Fata reforms package as well as the mainstreaming of the tribal areas, creating confusion whether he meant completing the consultation process or mainstreaming the tribal areas by May 31.
Mr Abbasi said that during the meeting of the Fata reforms committee, which was also attended by Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, they had prepared a “timeline” for taking various steps towards mainstreaming of Fata and he would soon take all the parliamentary leaders and other stakeholders into confidence in this regard.
He said the meeting had decided that the local government elections in Fata would be held “before October” this year so that the people living in the tribal areas could get their representation. He said that they would “finalise (modalities for) the elections of the National Assembly and provincial assembly in consultation with all the parties and the opposition leader” to avoid any controversy.
The prime minister said that both the National Assembly and the Senate had already passed the bill seeking to extend the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the high court to Fata.
Acknowledging the sacrifices of the personnel of law enforcement agencies, civilians and the locals, he said Fata mainstreaming should be implemented as there were no two opinions as all the political parties and the people of Pakistan were on one page over the issue.
Mr Abbasi said that in terms of development, Fata would be brought on a par with other parts of the country and for that purpose, in addition to the current allocation, Rs1,000 billion would be required for development in Fata over the next 10 years.
The government was committed to providing the required funds for that purpose, he said, adding that some matters were related to the National Finance Commission Award while others might need the approval of the Council of Common Interests.
The prime minister said he had visited Miramshah in Fata with the army chief on Monday where law and order had been restored with the efforts and sacrifices of the army.
According to sources, the meeting of the Fata reforms committee was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Sartaj Aziz, the governor and chief minister of KP, Minister for States and Frontier Regions retired Lt Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch and other civil and military officials. The meeting decided to immediately abolish the political agent tax collection.
Besides this, the sources said, it had also been decided that the federal government would allocate budget for each tribal agency. The meeting also decided that the collective and territorial responsibility would go phase-wise starting immediately with direct policing through Levies in urban centres which would gradually be extended with recruitment and training of the law enforcement personnel.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government desires to see implementation of the Fata reforms package — aimed at mainstreaming of the country’s tribal areas — before completion of its five-year term on May 31.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly at the fag end of the opening day of the budget discussion on Wednesday, the prime minister disclosed that the National Implementation Committee on Fata Reforms, which met earlier in the day, had taken a number of key decisions and finalised the “timeline” for various actions required to be taken for mainstreaming of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
Mr Abbasi, whose announcement overshadowed the nearly two-hour long budget speech of Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah, disclosed that he was coming directly to the house after attending the meetings of the Fata reforms committee and the National Security Committee and said he would soon take the parliamentary leaders into confidence on these decisions.
The prime minister said he wanted to have broad-based consultations on the issue of elections (for Fata representatives) of the National Assembly and the provincial assembly, hinting at the proposed merger of the tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Unanimous resolution in NA condemns PML-N ministers for using abusive language against PTI women; Khursheed Shah says opposition totally rejects budget
Amidst desk-thumping by the treasury members, Mr Abbasi announced that the Agency Development Fund had been abolished from today (Wednesday).
“We want to complete all the modalities within four weeks and all the parties should be on board in this regard as we want to do all this with consensus,” he said.
The prime minister’s speech was centred on consultations on the timeline for implementation of the Fata reforms package as well as the mainstreaming of the tribal areas, creating confusion whether he meant completing the consultation process or mainstreaming the tribal areas by May 31.
Mr Abbasi said that during the meeting of the Fata reforms committee, which was also attended by Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, they had prepared a “timeline” for taking various steps towards mainstreaming of Fata and he would soon take all the parliamentary leaders and other stakeholders into confidence in this regard.
He said the meeting had decided that the local government elections in Fata would be held “before October” this year so that the people living in the tribal areas could get their representation. He said that they would “finalise (modalities for) the elections of the National Assembly and provincial assembly in consultation with all the parties and the opposition leader” to avoid any controversy.
The prime minister said that both the National Assembly and the Senate had already passed the bill seeking to extend the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the high court to Fata.
Acknowledging the sacrifices of the personnel of law enforcement agencies, civilians and the locals, he said Fata mainstreaming should be implemented as there were no two opinions as all the political parties and the people of Pakistan were on one page over the issue.
Mr Abbasi said that in terms of development, Fata would be brought on a par with other parts of the country and for that purpose, in addition to the current allocation, Rs1,000 billion would be required for development in Fata over the next 10 years.
The government was committed to providing the required funds for that purpose, he said, adding that some matters were related to the National Finance Commission Award while others might need the approval of the Council of Common Interests.
The prime minister said he had visited Miramshah in Fata with the army chief on Monday where law and order had been restored with the efforts and sacrifices of the army.
According to sources, the meeting of the Fata reforms committee was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Sartaj Aziz, the governor and chief minister of KP, Minister for States and Frontier Regions retired Lt Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch and other civil and military officials. The meeting decided to immediately abolish the political agent tax collection.
Besides this, the sources said, it had also been decided that the federal government would allocate budget for each tribal agency. The meeting also decided that the collective and territorial responsibility would go phase-wise starting immediately with direct policing through Levies in urban centres which would gradually be extended with recruitment and training of the law enforcement personnel.
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