Senate stops Fata delimitation process

The Senate on Monday asked the government to stop the process of delimitation of constituencies in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and conduct the upcoming general elections as per the previous arrangements due to displacement of a large number of families due to militancy and military operations.
Through a resolution passed unanimously by the House in the private members day, the Senate recommended that process of delimitation under the new population census in Fata should be stopped that the general elections be held on the old arrangements.
The joint resolution was moved by senators including Sajjad Hussain Turi, Shahi Syed, Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, Momin Khan Afridi, Hidayatullah, Taj Mohammad Afridi, Najmul Hassan, Karim Ahmad Khawaja, Nauman Wazir Khattak, Mir Kabeer Ahmad Shahi, Azam Swati and Tahir Hussain Mashhadi.
Earlier, opposing the resolution, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab said the delimitation process is being conducted under the constitution in light of the latest population census. He said the government had decided not to reduce the seats of FATA in National Assembly despite decrease in population in a constituency.
Speaking on the resolution, leader of the opposition Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan pointed out that the Constitution in its sub-clause 3 of Article 51 stipulates 12 National Assembly seats for Fata which could neither be reduced nor increased.
He said it will not be a violation of the Constitution if the delimitation process in Fata is stopped and elections are held under the previous arrangements.
Sajjad Turi, while moving the motion, stated that a large population of 1.7 million of Fata is still living as temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) and not including them in the population was injustice with the people of tribal areas.
He demanded that general elections should be conducted under the old arrangements and measures be undertaken that the TDPs are return back to their homes by giving them the right to vote.
Farhatullah Babar while backing the resolution said the demand is valid for two reasons; a large population is displaced and secondly, the Constitution itself guarantees giving 12 National Assembly seats which cannot be reduced. Usman Kakar raised questions on the credibility of latest population census, saying population of Fata has been drastically reduced.
Speaking on another motion, senators including Jahanzeb Jamaldini, Sardar Mohammad Azam Musakhel, Usman Kakar, Nisar Mohammad, Hafiz Hamdullah, Mukhtiar Ahmed Dhamrah, Dr Ashok Kumar and others urged the government to take back the decision of banning issuance of licenses for automatic weapons. They stated that law and order situation and frequent terrorist attacks as well as incident of target killings do not warrant the decision of banning the licenses for automatic weapons.
Speaking on another motion, the senators expressed serious concerns over increasing incidents of child abductions, rapes and murders across the country and urged the government to undertake immediate measures to protect our future generation. Aitzaz Ahsan while speaking on the motion strongly criticised Punjab chief minister, his cabinet ministers and the police officers for cheering during a press conference when the culprit involved in Zainab murder case was arrested.
Responding to the concerns of senators, Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry underscored the need for effective legislation and the role of the parliament as well as media to stop the violence against children and their abductions. He further stated that provinces should learn from each other's experiences to arrest the culprits involved in abduction, rape and murder of the children.
The House also passed five private member bills, including the National Assembly Secretariat Employees Bill, 2018 aiming at regulating the employees of the National Assembly Secretariat, the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to decriminalize the attempt of suicide by those having mental issues, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Amendment) Bill, 2018, the Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2017 and the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018.