PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) provincial lawmaker Nisar Baz Khan has announced a complete boycott of meetings for a federal government committee concerning the former tribal areas (FATA).
Khan declared the boycott, acting on instructions from ANP Central President Aimal Wali Khan. He called the committee an “organized conspiracy” aimed at reversing the merger of FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
He stated that promises made to tribal people during the 2018 merger under the 25th Constitutional Amendment remain unfulfilled. Instead of honoring these commitments, Khan accused state institutions, the federal government, and particularly “the elite of Punjab” of trying to dismantle the merger.
Khan specifically claimed the committee, under the guise of restoring the traditional “Jirga” system, is actually paving the way for powerful interests to seize FATA’s valuable minerals. He argued this violates both the 18th and 25th Constitutional Amendments, challenges Parliament’s supremacy, and attacks provincial autonomy.
He reminded that the ANP previously rejected similar measures, like the Mines and Minerals Bill, as anti-people. Khan said the people of FATA were denied the benefits of the merger and are now being pushed back towards “backwardness and exploitation.”
Khan demanded that if the federal government is sincere, it should implement the original merger promises rather than create “unconstitutional committees” that trample on people’s rights. The ANP has vowed to protect FATA’s rights and will not attend any committee
sessions.
