Tribal leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have supported the 22nd Constitutional Amendment Bill moved by tribal parliamentarians for merging of Fata into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, PTI Fata leader Haji Iqbal Afridi accompanied by Dr Jalil, Muhammad Saleem, Syed Ahmad Khan and others said the tribesmen had been deprived of their all constitutional rights, due to the imposition of Frontier Crime Regulation Act in Fata.
"We want abolishment of the draconian FCR in Fata, which is contrary to basic human rights," he demanded. He further said that Fata had deliberately been kept backward in all fields, whereas tribesmen were not provided basic facilities, like education, health and others. He appreciated the Fata elected representatives for moving the 22nd Constitutional Amendment Bill in parliament, aimed at merging Fata into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said that they would accept merge or a separate province but would never accept any further delay in this regard. He viewed that tribal people had rendered countless sacrifices for the protection of their motherland, despite the fact they were still facing miseries due to the imposition of colonial law in Fata. He alleged that there were some elements, who wanted to keep the tribal people backward forever, adding that they were creating impediments in way of hope for merging the region into KP province.
Responding to a query, Haji Iqbal said they were ready to launch any kind of protest campaign to support the parliamentarians in this connection. If these elected people failed in their mission, the protest would be launched against them.