Zardari urges presenting FATA reforms bill in Parliament

ISLAMABAD: Former President Asif Ali Zardari Saturday urged the government to present FATA Reforms Bill into Parliament to pave way for merger of tribal areas in Pakhtunkhwa province as part of the National Action Plan (NAP) to pay homage to the martyrs of APS Peshawar.

In a message on the fourth anniversary of the attack on APS, Zardari said FATA reforms promised in the NAP was thrown to the wind as the proposed Bill was withdrawn from the Agenda of the National Assembly without any reason a few days ago.

He deplored that the National Action Plan (NAP) devised to root out terrorism to avenge the blood of the martyrs had not been implemented in letter and spirit, saying failure in implementing the NAP amounts to rejecting the sacrifices of countless shuhada of the armed forces, the para-military forces, the police and the civilians in the fight against militancy and extremism, said a press release.

On the fourth anniversary of APS martyrdom, we also call for bringing all perpetrators of the heinous crime to justice and accountability of those who have failed in implementation of the NAP, Zardari said.

The former president lamented that banned militant organizations had resurrected under different names behind the façade of charity work.