Tribal elders oppose,political leaders favoured Fata merger

Ashrafuddin Pirzada LANDIKOTAL: Qaumi Watan party favored while traditional tribal Maliks opposed Fata merger in their separete news conferences held here in Landikotal press club on Sunday. In the first press conference,Qaumi Watan Party district Khyber president Ali Rahman Shalmani said that the draconian "Frontier Crimes Regulations(FCR) has been replaced with the constitution after a long political struggle. He said after two years of Fata merger some of criminal minded people were against the fact to create chaos in the region. Shalmani said tribals had not been given the right to challenge the former political agent onsided decision in FCR. He added initially the merger process have constraints and would take time to bring its real results. "We are worried of target killings once again getting momentum in the tribal districts,It was a challenge for the government to protect life of citizens and stop the bloodshed of innocent people", said Ali Rehman. He added that a number of people including police and other government servants were assassinated in various target killgs incidents in erstwhile Fata regions in the past few months.

He said Qaumi Watan Party(QWP) has started door-to-door corner meetings and convey peace message among the residents in the merged districts. He said they would continue the corner meetings with the people of ex-Fata until they not win the mession of peace and development. Shalmani asked the authorities to stop violation of human rights at Torkham border. Ali Shalmani said they respect law and follow the constitution of Pakistan and would not let any official to violate human rights. He added that beauracracy,like the past, was tending to bring an other anti-human law that would further push tribals into the dark age and make a ground for their unfolded corruption. Meanwhile in the anti merger press conference, local elders Khyber Qaumi Jirga cheif Malik Bismillah flunked by local elder and JUI-F active leader Said Kabir Afridi and Malik Zar Muhammad Afridi said that land disputes emerged after the Fata merger claimed dozens of lives in the merged districts. He said those who supported Fata merger failed to give the true essence of Fata merger to the merged districts residents. "Fata merger is done unlawfully,unconstitutionally, undemocratically and is unnatural that destroyed strong tribal culture and traditions", said Malik Bismillah. He said after the so-called Fata merger the tribal people could not be ruled under the constitution of Pakistan nor they have treated with the FCR. He said courts of law have yet not find solution for the land disputes erupted after merger in Fata. He said they did not call merged districts but still they naming them the tribal agences where Khasadars were operating. He said they not accept the merger as it was the foreign agenda to further grind the ten million tribals for their vested interests. The elders said that their struggle would be continue until they not get the strong Jirga system back in the tribal agencies.