PESHAWAR: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday said the government had taken the decision about the merger of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa unilaterally without taking the region’s people on board.

He asked the government to hold a referendum to know if ex-Fata’s residents are happy.

The JUI-F chief was addressing the ‘Qabail Tahafuz Conference’ held by his party here.

JUI-F provincial chief Maulana Attaur Rehman, provincial general secretary Maulana Attaul Haq Darvesh and leader Maulana Amanullah Haqqani were also present on the occasion.

Mr Fazl said his party was still against the merger and it would continue the movement for a separate provincial status of the tribal areas.

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“The government and other state institutions did not honour the opinion of the people. We will continue the struggle for the recognition of tribal people as the main stakeholders and honouring of their opinion on the administrative status of their region. They have the right to decide their fate,” he said.

The JUI-F chief said the tribal people were loyal to the soil and had always protected national interests despite suffering a lot during the last one decade.

About the Afghan Taliban-US peace agreement, he said his party had always opposed the use of force for the region’s peace but no one gave attention to it.

He said the time had proved that dialogue held the solution to conflicts.

Mr Fazl appreciated the Afghan peace accord and demanded its proper implementation for sustainable peace in the region.

He described the federal government’s policies a ‘complete failure’ and said it hadn’t kept promises regarding jobs and strong economy.

The JUI-F chief said the national economy couldn’t be strengthened through the distribution of hens and buffalos to the people.

“We will never accept a selected government,” he said.

Mr Fazl resented the soaring prices of consumer goods and said the poor people were the ultimate sufferers of the government’s wrong economic policies.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2020