PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday demanded that the federal government must expedite the process for merger of the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and warned that his party will even launch protest campaign for the cause if necessary.
“The process of merger should be started by 2018. If the issue is delayed to 2023, only corrupt elements will be the beneficiaries of such a decision,” he told a press conference in Peshawar on Friday. “Delaying the merger would be tantamount to offering an opportunity to our enemies to create unrest in the region,” he added. The PTI chief alleged that the federal government was deliberately spoiling the chance to merge FATA with KP. “The decision to merge FATA with KP is being reversed because of Mahmood Achakzai and Fazlur Rehman,” he claimed, adding that Achakzai is opposed to the merger even though he has no stake in FATA. “There is no governance system in FATA, particularly in Waziristan area, so we have no other option but to merge it with KP,” Imran said, adding, “KP is ready administratively and economically for the merger. It has the best local government system ready to implement in FATA.
The LG system is necessary because investment and development in the area can only be done through the system.” The PTI chief further said that merger with KP has also been demanded by the tribal areas because they have the same norms, cultures and languages as the people in KP. Criticising the current setup, Imran said that the FATA Secretariat has become a ‘centre of corruption’. “[Adminstrative] posts are being sold and the prevailing system in FATA is being maintained to keep the status quo intact,” he said.
Published in Daily Times, October 7th 2017.
