Abbasi wants debate on proposed amendments

PESHAWAR: Expressing concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), Chief of Awam Pakistan Party Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Sunday called for subjecting the proposed amendments to the constitution to public and parliamentary debates as political stability was a must for the development.

Speaking at a press conference, Abbasi expressed his shock over the blockades on the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway to stop the PTI workers from attending a public rally in Rawalpindi.

“It hurts me when I saw those blockades on the motorway when I was coming to Peshawar today. It creates hatred among the people when you don’t allow them to enter another province,” he said.

The former prime minister said the country needed unity. “The constitution alone can guarantee political stability. “There will be political stability if the country is run as per constitution and the law,” he stressed.

About the Center-KP confrontation these days, the country suffered whenever there was tussle between the Centre and the provinces. “ Exchanging threats between the federal and provincial governments is a serious issue,” he added.

In response to a question, he said he had personal ties with PMLN chief Nawaz Sharif, but would never rejoin the party as he disagreed with the politics chosen by the party leadership.

Earlier, addressing a symposium, Abbasi said: “This is the first time in six years after the Fata merger that an event has been organised to discuss issues and problems being faced by the people of tribal districts. I must appreciate ASPIRE-KP [Advocacy for Sustainable Policy and Implementation Reforms, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] for this event “merged areas, their problems and proposed solutions,” said Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

A newly established nonprofit and nonpartisan organisation, Advocacy for Sustainable Policy and Implementation Reforms, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (ASPIRE-KP),had organised the event titled – “merged areas, their problems and proposed solutions.”

Khaqan Abbasi informed the participants of the event about the efforts started for Fata merger under the Sartaj Aziz Committee. He said the report was presented in the National Assembly and Senate for approval.

He said there was no urgency in the Fata merger as their own coalition partners in the government, including Maulana Fazlur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam had opposed the merger.

The former prime minister said Maulana Fazlur Rahman instead favoured a separate province’s status for the Fata, but had assured them that he would continue to support the PMLN government at that time.

He said most of the people, including the elected representatives from ex-Fata, who were part of PMLN, wanted him to leave it to the next government to decide the fate of Fata merger, but it was too late then.

“I told them that you can oppose it but now we have to go ahead after the 25 Constitutional Amendment. Then the political parties including the PPP and PTI also started backing out of the merger and told us better to leave it to the next government to decide it,” he recalled.

Abbasi said that since had studied in Peshawar from 1966 to 1973 and passed his matriculation exam from the same city, therefore he knew many people in KP.

“I held meetings with common people and they were in favour of the Fata merger and thus we made a final decision. The prime purpose of the merger was to bring Fata on a par with the rest of the country and offer them similar opportunities and services which were available to other people in the country,” he argued.

However, none of the provincial governments including the PMLN government in Punjab, the PTI setup in KP and PPP’s in Sindh were willing to pay for the development and security services of Fata, he added.

“We held a number of meetings with the provincial governments to convince them that it was in favour of the entire country to help Fata resolve its genuine problems. And thus it was decided with unanimity that three per cent would be paid to Fata from the divisible pool. It was agreed that annually Rs100 billion would be given to Fata for 10 years for its socio economic development and improving services such as health and education, but none of the governments fulfilled their promises and that brought the tribal districts to this situation where the security situation has again become worse,” Abbasi explained.

He, however, said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was now responsible for managing Fata and addressing all concerns of the people there. The only responsibility of the federal government is to provide them funds and the KP government is required to carry out development programmes there, he explained.

“To my knowledge, nothing has changed in Fata as the provincial governments didn’t provide funds. Frustration of the people is natural as their problems were not resolved after the merger,” elaborated Abbasi.

A former parliamentarian, Maulana Noorul Haq Qadri highlighted major issues of the merged districts, saying they were deceived in the name of merger by making tall promises.

A former senator, Maulana Saleh Shah said that Fata was merged to serve the interests of the United States, claiming that almost all of the tribal districts had opposed the merger.

A PTI MPA from South Waziristan, Asif Mahsud said Fata was fast heading towards a total collapse due to lack of ownership, respect for people’s mandate and growing frustration of the people. .

A former governor Engineer Shaukatullah Khan and others also spoke on issues and problems in their respective areas.

A former chief secretary of KP Mohammad Shehzad Arbab is chairman of the organisation. He is assisted by a group of retired civil servants, vice- chancellors and judges in his efforts of highlighting major serious problems of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, creating awareness and seeking solutions.

At the end, Arbab Mohammad Arif of ASPIRE-KP presented a declaration which said after six years of merger, the recent surge in terrorism had raised serious concerns about the region’s stability and progress.

It said the federal and provincial governments had failed to fulfill their promises about developmental and operational expenditures for the merged districts which had slowed down the pace of infrastructure development.

The declaration said governance issues in the merged districts were numerous, including weaknesses in the institutional framework and a lack of coordination between various agencies, which hinder governance throughout the region.