Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and SAFRON Amir Muqam has strongly denied the news of withdrawing the FATA merger and abolishing the 18th Constitutional Amendment, calling them baseless. He said that the government is neither bringing back the FCR nor the 18th Amendment being tampered with.
According to a private TV channel (Sama), Amir Muqam said this during an important press conference in Islamabad. He clarified that the Prime Minister has formed a high-level committee to resolve the issues of the jirga system and merged districts in FATA, which includes the Governor, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other important figures. The committee has also started the process of consultation with various stakeholders and parliamentarians.
“PTI boycotted the consultation; it is only spreading rumours”
According to the federal minister, the committee had called parliamentarians for consultation today, but unfortunately, it has to be said that the PTI boycotted this consultation.
“It is completely wrong to say that the government wants to withdraw FATA merger. There is no truth in such things.”
“Neither the FCR is coming back nor the 18th Amendment is being repealed. FATA merger and the abolition of FCR are historic initiatives of the PML-N and we want to improve the people of FATA by staying within this system.”
“Adopt national thinking, don’t play politics”
Amir Muqam emphasised that this is not the time for political point scoring but for making decisions based on rational thinking. “Playing politics on the committee formed by the Prime Minister is regrettable. PTI only wants to make news, not solve problems.”
He added that the federal government has the right to play a role in solving provincial problems, and the issue of FATA is not just Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but a national issue.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s reservations
On the other hand, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government expressed reservations about the federal committee and made it clear that any change regarding the merged districts would be unacceptable without consultation with the province.
Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, told the media after attending the meeting in Islamabad:
“The biggest stakeholder of the merged districts is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is regrettable and questionable that the province was not taken into confidence in the formation of the committee.”
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