Lahore: Flanked by the representatives of major political parties from the tribal areas, Ameer, Jamaat e Islami, Pakistan, Senator Sirajul Haq, at a press conference in Peshawar on Saturday, demanded that the FCR be abolished and the tribal areas be declared a separate province or a FATA Council be set up for their governance on the pattern of Gilgit and Baltistan.
The JI chief said that the FCR had been enforced by the British rulers for criminals but it was still in force. The FCR negated basic human rights and gave administrative as well as judicial powers to a single individual who was not answerable to anyone, he added.
Others present at the press conference included JI’s Sahibzada Haroon ur Rashid, PPP’s Akhudzada Chatan, PML(()’s Haji Rahat Yousuf, PML(Q)’s Haji Said Badshah, ANPs Burhanud Din Khan, traders’ representative Muhammad Hameed Soofi, and journalist representative Haji Habibullah.
Senator Sirajul Haq said the tribal people were now awake and wanted political reforms. However, these reforms should be proposed by the tribal people themselves and not by the bureaucracy, as the tribal people were not ready to tolerate the black law any more. He said the political parties of tribal areas had decided to make joint struggle for the political rights of their people. He further said that the government had announced the return of the IDPs but had not given any schedule so far.
The JI chief said that the tribal people loved Pakistan, and the tribal people had honored all the promises they had made with the Quaid e Azam. However, the rulers in Pakistan had not treated them fairly. He said the system in tribal areas had collapsed and the educational institutions were closed and there were no roads.
He said the tribal people had given blood for the country and the rulers should decide their future by giving them rights and not through gun.
He said he would consult the Senators and MNAs and MPAs from FATA for the solution of the problems of the area. He said he would allocate a part of his funds for the tribal areas a under the rules. He said that the PTI was also supported him on these issues.
The JI chief said the problems of the IDPs should be solved without further delay. He said if they felt that the government was not sincere in regard to the IDPs return, they would decide a way out through mutual consultation.