ISLAMABAD: Despite having a common stance on the issue of Fata reforms, chances of two major opposition parties — the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) — coming closer for launching a protest movement against the government are really slim.

The PTI has already announced its decision to launch a “historical movement” for the implementation of the Fata reforms package which includes merger of tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but the PPP says it has no programme to launch the agitation on the issue.

Both parties jointly protested and disrupted proceedings of the last session of the National Assembly through their boycotts when the government at the eleventh hour withdrew a bill seeking extension of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Peshawar High Court to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

After the government’s failure, the PTI now plans to take to the streets to press the rulers for implementation of the Fata reforms package, but the PPP desires to keep the protest within parliament.

“The PPP has no programme to launch a movement, stage a demonstration or a sit-in. But we will employ all peaceful means to continue demanding implementation of Fata reforms and the merger of the tribal areas with KP,” said PPP secretary general and spokesman Farhatullah Khan Babar when asked about the chances of his party joining the PTI’s planned anti-government movement.

Mr Babar asserted that the PPP stood firm with the people of Fata who had been deprived of their fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution and being enjoyed by the people living in other parts of the country. He said that the PPP was concerned over the government’s move of delaying the implementation of the reforms package which had been prepared and announced by the ruling party itself.

The PPP leader said that his party was also concerned over the government’s move to withdraw the bill from the National Assembly’s agenda at the eleventh hour without giving any reason.

“It is a matter of concern that first they included the bill in the agenda and then all of a sudden withdrew it. We want to know as to what had actually happened which forced the government to withdraw the bill?” he said.

The PPP, he said, had decided to continue its protest in the National Assembly till the time the government brought the required legislation to the house for the betterment of the Fata people.

Mr Babar, however, said that the PPP would support any call given by the elected representatives of Fata.

“Whatever decision will be taken by Fata MPs, we will support them,” he declared.

The PTI leadership during a meeting of the party’s core committee last week had decided to launch a protest movement for Fata’s merger with KP. The party’s information secretary and MNA Shafqat Mehmood had said the party would soon finalise modalities of the protest.

Mr Mehmood alleged that it seemed that the government had taken a U-turn on the issue of merger of Fata with KP due to political expediencies and such an act was condemnable.

The PTI chairman, while addressing the “Fata Youth Convention” in Islamabad earlier this month, had threatened to hold a march on Islamabad, if the government did not take any positive step towards merger of Fata with KP during the NA session — which had already ended last week.

In March, the federal cabinet under former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had approved a set of steps to be taken for the proposed merger of Fata with KP and a 10-year reforms package to bring the tribal region on a par with other developing areas of the country.

Later in May, the government convened a special session of the National Assembly for presentation of three bills, including a constitution amendment bill drafted in the light of the recommendations of the Fata reforms committee.

The government though tabled the amendment bill required for declaring Fata a part of KP and the Tribal Areas Rewaj Bill, 2017, it did not move the bill seeking extension of the jurisdiction of the Peshawar High Court and the Supreme Court to Fata without any explanation.

Later, the reforms hit a snag when the then prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, directed the government to hold back the legislation due to opposition by its allies.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2017