Fata ministers resign

ISLAMABAD - Demanding, inter alia, immediate removal of NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani, FATA
ministers and parliamentary secretaries submitted their resignations late Monday night to Prime Minister Yousuf
Raza Gilani, dealing yet another blow to the PPP-led fragile ruling coalition.
The resignations came amid an already murky political situation in the country with Pakistan Peoples Party
struggling to keep its withering coalition intact.
Insiders have told TheNation that ministers as well as parliamentary secretaries from the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA) stayed away from the last three consecutive cabinet meetings primarily in protest against
the non-acceptance of their longstanding demands.
Keeping in view the already brewing political storm in Balochistan, political pundits have observed that the
tendering of resignations by FATA ministers and Parliamentary secretaries could prove to be the last straw on
the camels back in the context of the regimes longevity.
Me and my other colleagues have just handed over the resignations together to the Prime Minister, who has
given us a considerate view but said he could not accept these until President Asif Ali Zardari returns back from
abroad, Munir Aurakzai, Parliamentary leader of the FATA members told The Nation.
Other than immediate sacking of the Governor, he said, they have immediate release of FATA development
funds, delayed for over a year now. The FATA members in Parliament, including the cabinet members were also
uneasy about constantly being ignored in key policymaking. Submitting their resignations, the MPs from FATA
have also demanded that Internally Displaced People from the FATA should treated at par with the other
affectees from North Western Frontier Province. They have also asked the federal government to declare FATA
as a calamity hit areas as it did for the Malakand Division in the wake of ongoing war against extremism.
Those who resigned from the cabinet membership include Parliamentary Leader Munir Orakzai, Federal
Minister for Environment Hamidullah Jan Afridi, Federal Minister for Zakat and Usher Noorul Haq and Minister of
State for Kashmir Affairs Abdul Raziq.
The sources further said that Federal Minister for Environment Hamidullah Jan Afridi was due to join the
delegation led by President Asif Ali Zardari on the recent US visit, but he did not join the delegation of the
President as a protest.
After tendering their resignations, the FATA members have reportedly gone into a session to draw out their
future strategy. A source told TheNation that the Senators resignations would follow in case their demands were
not fulfilled. Last would be the resignations of FATA MNAs from their National Assembly seats.