KOHAT: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl activists at a protest meeting in Darra Adamkhel on Thursday asked the tribal people to rise above their political affiliations and join its movement against the merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The JUI-F and PTI protesters were sitting in separate groups, but when their leaders asked them to gather under the black flag of Fata they joined the meeting together.

The JUI-F, Kohat, had also announced to participate in the meeting. The protest held at Ayub Chowk in Darra Adamkhel was attended by a large number of tribesmen. It was addressed by JUI-F Darra chief Maulana Zafar Afridi, former MNA Baz Gul Afridi and member of Fata committee Naib Khan. A walk was also held on this occasion.

The speakers said that their fate could not be decided in Punjab, Peshawar and Mianwali and by ANP. Maulana Shakoor said that the tribesmen would have to fight for their rights, as in case of a separate province they would have their own governor, chief minister and chief secretary.

Other speakers said that their houses and businesses were already ruined and now the government wanted to take their identity from them. They said that the father of the nation had guaranteed their free status. They urged the government to refrain from meddling in the affairs of free tribal areas.

DOMICILE CERTIFICATE: The district administration has issued domicile forms to the district education officers for their delivery in the first phase to over 14,000 students at the government higher secondary schools in Kohat.

The decision in this regard was made by deputy commissioner Ilyas Khalid to rid the students and their parents of the cumbersome process of visiting the councillors, patwaris, tehsildars and DC’s offices for making a domicile.

Assistant commissioners of Kohat and Lachi, and assistant political agent of Frontier Region, Kohat, were also present at the press conference addressed by the DC on Thursday.

Mr Khalid said that in the first phase the process would be launched in 25 higher secondary schools for boys and girls in the settled area and 14 high schools in FR Kohat. He said that the service would be later extended to the private schools and colleges.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2017