The National
Implementation Committee on FATA reforms met here today under the chairmanship
of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
The meeting was attended by Chief of
Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Minister for SAFRON Lt. Gen (R) Abdul
Qadir Baloch, Minister for Law Mr. Zahid Hamid, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission
Mr. Sartaj Aziz, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mr. Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Chief
Minister KP Mr. Pervez Khattak and other senior civil and military
officials.
The Committee
reviewed the progress on legal reforms and noted that a bill to extend the
jurisdiction of High Court and Supreme Court to FATA has already been tabled in
the National Assembly. It directed the Law Minister to expedite the passage of
the bill through both houses of Parliament and also initiate other legal and
administrative measures so that the normal judicial system can be extended to
FATA as early as possible and its people can enjoy the same fundamental and
other rights that are available to people in the rest of Pakistan.
The Committee
also directed that all administrative actions to set up agency courts and to
expand the capacity of various law enforcement agencies in FATA should be taken
expeditiously in consultation with the superior judiciary.
The Committee
noted that a high level Committee has already been set up to prepare a 10 year
plan for the socio-economic development of FATA. In this context, it directed
the Finance Minister to seek, as a matter of priority, the endorsement of the
National Finance Commission to the proposal to allocate a share from the
divisible pool for FATA for the next 10 years.
Taking note
of different viewpoints on FATA Reforms, the Committee carried out an in-depth
review of the issues raised and concluded that there was widespread support for
the merger of FATA with KP. However, many legal and administrative action will be
required before this important reform can be given practical shape. The task of
repatriation of TDPs and their rehabilitation have been completed; the required
administrative, law enforcement and security personnel are being deployed.
Legal reforms have also been initiated. The Committee will continue to review
progress of these actions at its future meetings.
The Committee observed that FATA Reforms involve four different
dimensions i.e. political mainstreaming, legal mainstreaming, economic
mainstreaming and security mainstreaming. These were interdependent and
therefore have to be carefully planned and dovetailed. Each has its own
administrative and financial implications. Reforms efforts in the past have not
been very successful because they did not adopt this holistic view of the
process. The Committee reiterated its commitment to continue working for
implementation of the decision of the Federal Cabinet.
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