ISLAMABAD: Deadlock over the implementation of the proposed Fata reforms package still persists as the first direct meeting between the government and a team of ally Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) on Wednesday fai­led to make any headway on issues of planned merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and extension of the superior courts’ jurisdiction to the region.

Talking to Dawn after attending more than two-hour-long meeting with a government team headed by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, a member of the JUI-F’s supreme jirga council declared that there had been no breakthrough in the talks and their reservations over the proposed Fata reforms package were still there “as it is”.

The prime minister was assisted in the talks by federal Minister for States and Frontier regions (Safron) retired Lt Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, PM’s Special Assistant Barrister Zafarullah Khan and Plan­ning Commission Deputy Chairman Sartaj Aziz. Mr Aziz headed the committee that had formulated the Fata reforms recommendations earlier this year.

The PM had met the jirga council members hours after the Safron minister annou­nced in parliament that the government intended to introduce “Supreme Court and High Court (Extension of Jurisdiction to Fata) Bill 2017 in the National Assembly on Thursday (today).

Team led by PM Abbasi conducts negotiations with JUI-F supreme jirga council

However, according to sources in the government, it is highly unlikely that the bill will be presented before the assembly after the meeting with the jirga.

The five-point agenda issued for Thursday’s session by the NA Secretariat — available on the official website — has no mention of the bill in question.

Talking to Dawn, Barrister Zafarullah Khan, who is looking after the law ministry after Zahid Hamid quit as law minister last month, admitted that they had failed to reach a consensus, but claimed that they were “near a consensus”. He said the meeting was held in a very “cordial atmosphere” and both sides listened to the arguments of each other with an open mind.

Mr Khan said the jirga had given counter-proposals that could be considered. Without elaborating, he said some of their proposals were “very good”.

“There was no 100 per cent inflexibility from the other side,” he said, adding that he had given the jirga members a briefing on the bill seeking extension of the superior courts to Fata whereas they had also presented their viewpoint over the issue of Fata’s merger with KP.

Responding to a question, he said it was unlikely they would move the bill early as they did not want to spoil the “good environment”.

Mr Khan said the jirga believed that the extension of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) would be a step towards the merger of Fata with KP, but they had no objection over the extension of the Islamabad High Court to the region.

He said it was a “bitter issue” and they should not show any haste over it. “Had it been not a big issue, why it was not resolved by the past governments, including the three military regimes,” he added.

Call for referendum

The sources said the jirga desired that a referendum should be held in the tribal areas to know if the people wanted merger with KP or they wanted a separate province.

On Tuesday, PM Abbasi and Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had met JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to discuss the proposed merger.

The maulana and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai are the only two stakeholders who continue to stonewall efforts to pass fresh legislation to change the status of Fata.

Earlier in the day, opposition members continued their boycott of the National Assembly to protest the government’s refusal to table the Fata reforms bill.

Recalling how Speaker Ayaz Sadiq had assured lawmakers a day earlier that the draft bill might be laid before the house on Wednesday, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah observed that it was surprising to see no mention of the legislation in the day’s agenda.

“We are being told that it will be introduced tomorrow (Thursday). If it is introduced, the opposition will welcome it and extend unanimous support [for its passage]. But until that happens, we prefer not to sit in this empty house,” he said, gesturing to the mostly-bare government benches.

Later, Safron Minister Qadir Baloch, while responding to a calling attention notice moved by Senator Shibli Faraz of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the Senate, regretted that no past government had taken any step to end the miseries of tribesmen, terming it “criminal negligence”.

He said the administration in Fata was being run through Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) and people were being forced to pay “cruel taxes” without having the right of appeal to any court.

The minister declared that the government was committed to implementing all the recommendations presented by a special committee under Sartaj Aziz in order to mainstream the tribal areas and a timeline for the implementation of each of the recommendations had already been finalised by another high-powered committee, led by the prime minister.

Responding to criticism of the government for delaying the implementation of Fata reforms only to appease two of its allies, Mr Baloch said the government was still trying to convince its coalition partners.

“We are not dragging our feet,” he said, adding that the PML-N government would not let anyone take credit for this historical task, saying: “it will be a feather in our cap”.

In March, the federal cabinet approved a set of steps to be taken for the proposed merger of Fata with KP, and a 10-year reform package to bring the tribal region on a par with developing areas of the country.

In May, the government convened a special session of the National Assembly for the presentation of three bills, including a constitutional amendment drafted in light of the recommendations of the Fata reforms committee. But the government only tabled the amendment required to declare Fata a part of KP, while the Rewaj Bill 2017, the draft law seeking the extension of the jurisdiction of the PHC and the SC to Fata, was not moved.

The bill was again placed on the agenda on Dec 11, but was withdrawn at the eleventh hour, prompting a protest from opposition and Fata members, who announced a continuous boycott of the assembly proceedings until the bill was tabled for passage.

Hassan Belal Zaidi also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2017