Cabinet discusses FATA Reforms Committee Report

ISLAMABAD, Dec 15 (APP): The Federal Cabinet meeting on Thursday discussed the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Reforms Committee Report in detail and deferred it for few days.
Addressing a joint press conference along with Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of States and Frontier Regions Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch said that the proposal for integration of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) was supported by almost all the cabinet members.
Baloch said that as per proposal FATA would be integrated with
the KPK in five years timeframe and ten years’ development project for the area would be launched.
He said there was a proposal to allocate 3 per cent of the resources from divisible pool for development of the FATA, but for that purpose the matter would be taken up in Council of Common Interests (CCI) for its approval.
Qadir Baloch said that Akram Durrani representing JUI F informed the cabinet that his party was holding a Jirga in coming few days and its input should also be included. Qadir Baloch said JUI F and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKAMP) had not differed on the issue in principle.
The minister said that the FATA reforms committee visited all
seven agencies and held 16 Jirgas having representation of the notables of the FATA, media persons, students, business community, lawyers and political parties and overwhelming majority supported the idea of integration of the FATA.
He said that the Cabinet deferred the final decision on the proposal as the Prime Minister had said that he wanted to take all allies along and hoped that JUI F and Pakhunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP) would support the proposal. Baloch said that the committee would approach JUI F and PKMAP in a few days to get their final input.
To a question, Qadir Baloch said that all the 19 FATA members of
the parliament including 11 MNAs and 8 senators had given written approval for merger with KPK.
He also said it was right of the people of FATA to enjoy their democratic rights. He said that in the past similar agencies also existed in Balochistan.
Earlier Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said that at the start of the Cabinet meeting Fateha was offered for the souls of the PIA aircraft crash and Karachi hotel fire victims.
She said that it was historic cabinet meeting as it discussed FATA reforms committee report in detail. She said that in the past promises were made with FATA people but no concrete steps were taken.
She said that credit for giving constitutional rights to the FATA people would go to PML N government as after thorough consultations with the stakeholders, the report had been taken up by the cabinet.
She said that the committee headed by Prime Minister’s Adviser
Sartaj Aziz visited all agencies of the tribal areas.
She said that Abdul Qadir Baloch also played an important role in preparation of the report and Prime Minister appreciated contribution of both Sartaj Aziz and Qadir Baloch.
She said with the approval of the cabinet, the people of FATA would see the day for which they were waiting since ages.