News
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
KP lawmakers demand FATA representation in PA* Adopt resolution calling on federal govt to amend constitution to give Tribal Areas representation in provincial assembly
Staff Report
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa legislators passed on Monday a resolution calling on President Asif Ali Zardari and the federal government to amend the constitution to give people of Tribal Areas representation in the provincial legislative assembly.
The resolution, tabled by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Law Minister Arshad Abdullah, was not opposed and the move could pave the way for bringing a change in the governance system in Tribal Areas, where al Qaeda and their local harbourers have set up safe havens to wage war against Pakistan and foreign forces in Afghanistan. The resolution was drafted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa law minister in the presence of a large number of lawyers belonging to FATA.
“This assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through the provincial government hereby recommends to the president and the federal government to ensure that people of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) should fully enjoy the protection and equality under and before the law,” the resolution said.
It said the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and high court should be extended to the tribal areas governed through special laws that human rights activists dismissed as “gross violation” of fundamental rights of the tribal people.
No political party opposed the resolution that the ruling Awami National Party (ANP) had since long been advocating – that the tribal areas should be merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and that the tribal people should be given representation in the provincial assembly.
The resolution recommended to President Asif Ali Zardari to delete clause 7 of Article 247 of the constitution and abolish recently promulgated Frontier Crimes Regulation Tribunal and provide the tribal people with proper judicial forum where they seek cheap and quick justice.
If approved as demanded, observers say, the resolution would pave the way for fundamental changes in the governance mechanism being used in Tribal Areas along the border with Afghanistan and where the writ of the state has been seriously challenged after 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
The tribal people, however, stand divided over the issue of being merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as one school of thought supports the idea, while the other demands separate status of province.
The opposition-led amendment to the resolution was allowed and it read that the people of Tribal Areas should be given representation in the provincial assembly with their consent. Pakistan People’s Party (Sherpao) MPA Sikander Sherpao said the tribal people should be consulted as to whether they wanted to leave the colonial-era governance system behind.
“Instead of making changes one by one, we need to change the system once and for all,” he said while taking part in the discussion on the resolution. “We need to resolve the FATA issue once instead of visiting it time and again.”
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk