ISLAMABAD - A day after the federal cabinet gave approval to the Fata reforms committee recommendations — envisaging gradual merger of the tribal belt with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in the next five years — the apex court has been approached against the committee report, challenging that a majority of the people did not support the merger plan.
Five Maliks of various agencies of the Federally Administrative Tribal Areas (Fata) have contended that constitutional provisions bar the prime minister from taking decisions on Fata. They have submitted that the impugned notification issued by the prime minister for the constitution of the Fata reforms committee was illegal and void under Article 247 of the constitution.
“As a consequence thereof, the Fata reforms committee constituted by virtue of the said notification is also illegal and has no legal and constitutional mandate to undertake reforms process in Fata,” the petitioners said.
The federal cabinet on March 2 approved the committee recommendations, which include, among other reforms, the merger of Fata with KP and the replacement of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR).
Malik Waris Khan Afridi of Khyber Agency, Malik Khan Marjan of North Waziristan Agency, Malik Attaullah of South Waziristan Agency, Malik Bahadur Shah of Bajaur Agency and Malik Baz Gul of Dara Adam Khel, FR Kohat have filed the petitions under Article 184(3) of the constitution.
They have made the federation of Pakistan through Secretary Cabinet Division, the President of Pakistan through Secretary Aiwan-e-Sadar, the Prime Minister through Principal Secretary, Minister of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) through Secretary SAFRON and Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Peshawar as respondents.
The petitioners alleged that the setting up of the committee, holding of consultation meetings with the people in Fata, the preparation of a report by the committee and recommendations was an attempt to circumvent a mandatory requirement of holding of a tribal jirga as provided in Article 247 (6).
“It amounts to a futile attempt to portray the so-called meetings with the stakeholders as an exercise to seek the opinion of the public in tribal areas in order to satisfy rather circumvent a mandatory constitutional requirement and to present its findings as an expression of the real and genuine wishes of tribesmen,” the petitioners claimed.
The petitioners submitted: “The assertion that the majority of the public in tribal areas is in support of the merger with KP is absolutely baseless and false.”
They claimed that speakers whose names have been mentioned in the Fata reforms report and wherein an impression has been given on their behalf that they had expressed support, for the merger of Fata with KP have denied these claims.
The petitioners also attached affidavits of as many as 100 eminent persons from all the seven agencies of Fata with the petition.
The petitioners urged the Supreme Court to issue directives to the respondents to constitute a new committee for proposing reforms in Fata the order of the president in accordance with Article 247 of the constitution with a reasonable representation from Fata.
In November 2015, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif set up a committee on Fata reforms to propose a concrete way forward for the mainstreaming of tribal areas after consulting all stakeholders.
Being Chairman of a four-member committee, Sartaj Aziz had submitted recommendations of the committee to prime minister on August 8, 2016, saying that the committee visited in the seven agencies and held detailed discussions with tribal Maliks, elders, representatives of all political parties and other members of the civil society on merger of Fata with KP within five years.