Pakistan's National Assembly passes bill to merge Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
May 28, 2018, 2:40:01 CEST | Wikinews

Sunday, May 27, 2018 

Crime and law
Related articles


27 May 2018: Pakistan's National Assembly passes bill to merge Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
27 May 2018: Ireland votes to overturn 35-year-old constitutional ban on abortion
25 May 2018: US National Football League to fine teams if athletes kneel during national anthem
22 May 2018: Greek police arrest four for attacking Thessaloniki mayor Yiannis Boutaris
20 May 2018: Swaziland's King Mswati III signs gazette to rename country to eSwatini


Collaborate!

Pillars of Wikinews writing
Writing an article


On Thursday, Pakistan's lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, voted in favour of merging the country's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with their neighbouring province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The bill, subject to the approval of the Senate, KP's assembly, and the president, would ensure FATA is governed by the federal as well as the provincial government.

The bill was passed by a 229 to 1 majority by the 342-member National Assembly in Islamabad. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi thanked the opposition parties for their support. Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and Jamiat Ulema-e Islam (F) (JUI-F) were the only two parties to oppose the merger. Opposition leader Imran Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party said, "The tribal people want immediate justice just like the system that we have in KP".

Since Pakistan's 1947 independence from British rule, FATA has been governed by the "Political Agents" appointed by the Pakistani President. These agents exercise near-complete autonomous control over the area. About five million people live in the seven districts — Bajaur, Khyber, Kurram, Mohmand, Orakzai as well as the North and South Waziristan — which constitute FATA. Political agents are responsible for providing governmental services and judiciary under Article 247 of the Pakistani Constitution.

Before January 12, when a bill extended the Pakistani Supreme Court and Peshawar High Court's writ to FATA, the tribal area was out of the jurisdiction of the Pakistani courts. Collective punishment of a tribe can be declared under the Frontier Crimes Regulations, the code applicable to the seven districts. Per the rules dating back to the colonial era, FATA citizens do not enjoy all the rights under the Constitution of Pakistan that other Pakistani are entitled to.

Prime Minister Abbasi said, "This is the start of a process, not the end of one. We need to gain the trust of the people of FATA, and that trust will not come just through words". He later added, "We have to give the people of FATA the same schools, the same colleges, the same universities, the same hospitals, the same roads and the system as is available to everyone else in Pakistan. There should be no difference there."

If the bill is passed, it is expected to change the first article of the Pakistani Constitution, which defines the Pakistan territory, listing FATA separately from the other provinces. Article 246, which defines the Federally Administered Tribal, would be modified and Article 247, which gives the guidelines to administer the all the tribal areas including FATA, is expected to be removed once the merger bill is approved.

The bill states the National Assembly seats are to be reduced from 342 to 336; the Senate is to be reduced from 104 to 96 seats. Change of the number of seats in both the houses of parliament is to bring change to Article 51 and 59 of the constitution which directs the number of seats available for both the houses. The bill also says FATA is to hold 21 seats in the Pakhtunkhwa province.

Militant groups Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda have operated in FATA for years, and military actions were carried out since 2008 to usurp militant groups' control over the area and restore Pakistan control.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement party leader Dr Farooq Sattar called for a referendum to create FATA a separate province and explained their support for the current bill as "for the sake of political unity". "We fear that if Fata is merged with KP, it will get difficult to create a new province in the future", Sattar commented. Calling it a "black day", JUI-F's representative Jamaluddin said the parties had voted to "usurp the rights of the people of Fata".

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said, "Today this house has approved a historic bill, which will have very positive effects for Pakistan." The merger bill needs to be approved by at least two thirds of the members of KP's assembly. Per Article 239 (4) of the constitution, any bill which may lead to Constitutional amendment and alter provincial boundaries requires at least two thirds majority from the provincial assembly before it is presented to the President.






Have an opinion on this story? Share it!



Sources[edit]
"The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan" — Pakistani Government, May 27, 2018 (date of access)
Ben Farmer and Anum Mirza. "Pakistan ends colonial-era arrangement as it brings restive tribal border area into mainstream politics" — The Daily Telegraph, May 24, 2018
Imtiaz Ahmad. "Pakistan Parliament passes bill to merge Fata, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" — Hindustan Times, May 24, 2018
Asad Hashim. "Pakistan parliament passes landmark tribal areas reform" — Al Jazeera, May 24, 2018
Amir Wasim. "National Assembly green-lights Fata-KP merger by passing 'historic' bill" — Dawn (newspaper), May 24, 2018





Share this: 

Source: Wikinews
Share this article:
share article on facebook share article on twitter share article on google+ share article on tumblr share article on blogger share article on reddit

Articles that may interest you:


Pakistani President signs bill to merge Feder...

Saturday, June 2, 2018  Pakistan Related articles 2 June 2018: Pakistani President signs...

India: Madhya Pradesh police arrests second a...

Sunday, July 1, 2018  Crime and law Related articles 1 July 2018: India: Madhya Pradesh ...

India: Punjab cabinet republishes ordinance a...

Friday, June 29, 2018  India Related articles 29 June 2018: India: Punjab cabinet republ...
Send us your articles and web-novels!
comments powered by Disqus
Most popular


Recently Viewed:


Pakistan's National Assembly passes bill to merge Fe...

Sunday, May 27, 2018  Crime and law Related articles 27 May 2018: Pakistan's National Ass...


Mosque vandalized near Seattle, Washington

A mosque in Redmond, Washington, US, was vandalized in the early hours of Monday morning. A...


Investigators blame pilot error for AirAsia crash in...

Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee yesterday declared pilot error to be be...


Cody Walker has joined ROWW as brand manager

Cody Walker, younger brother of Paul Walker has decided to join Reach Out Worldwide; a found...


World Cup winner Philipp Lahm to hang up his boots

On Tuesday, German ex-football captain and 2014 FIFA World Cup winner Philipp Lahm announced...

Automotive
Reviews | Technology | Projects & Tuning | Events | Racing
Business & Technology
Business & Economy | Mobile | Internet & Media | Security & Privacy | Gadgets & Tech | Software
Lifestyle
Health, Food & Fitness | Fashion | Gardening | DIY | Homes
Society
Accidents | Crime | Culture | Finance | Politics
Science & Environment
Wildlife | Green | Space
Gaming
Reviews
Society
Accidents | Crime | Culture | Finance | Politics
Travel
MM-iNEWS
Copyright & Privacy | Site Roadmap | Sitemap | Contact
Web Development @ OverHertz Ltd
Ω