CHITRAL: The people of Malakand division on Saturday resented the abolition of the status of their region’s provincially administered tribal area due to the passage of the Constitution (Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2018, by parliament and threatened agitation and even boycott of the upcoming general elections against it.

The constitutional amendment is basically meant to merge the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In Chitral, KP Bar Council member Abdul Wali Khan, district bar association president Khurshid Mughal and other senior lawyers told a news conference that the MPAs of Malakand division should resist the bill in the provincial assembly slated to meet today (Sunday).

They said the abolition of the region’s status of Pata entailed heavy taxation for Malakand division, including the automatic promulgation of Customs and Income Tax Act, and that it would cause an unbearable burden on the local economy badly affected by floods and terrorism in the recent years.

“We are not opposing the Fata-KP merger and instead, we welcome it. But at the same time, we vow to resist the abolition of the status of Pata for Malakand as it will deprive the local residents of a number of concessions, including tax exemptions, given under the Constitution,” Abdul Wali said.

He said it was not the right time to withdraw those concessions from the local people, mostly poor.

Khurshid Mughal said the people of Malakand division had already forced the federal government to withdraw the extension of the Customs Act to the region through massive protests few years ago.

He demanded that the government should retain parts of the articles 246 and 247 of the Constitution on Pata to the relief of the people of Malakand.

In Mingora, the people from all walks of life, especially traders and political workers, protested the legislation and warned that they would agitate and boycott coming elections if Malakand division was deprived of Pata status.

The warning was issued during a joint news conference at the Swat Press Club, which was addressed by All Swat Traders Federation leader Abdur Rahim, DDAC chairman and PTI MPA Fazal Hakim Khan, tehsil nazim Ikram Khan, ANP’s Wajid Ali Khan, JUI’s Ishaq Zahid, QWP’s Iqbal Hussain Baley, Jamaat-i-Islami’s Yousaf Ali Khan, PkMAP’s Asghar Khan, civil society activists and elders.

They said Malakand division had got a special status of tax-free zone since the merger of Swat, Dir and Chitral states in 1969 but the successive governments snatch that concession from them.

The speakers said the people of Malakand were also badly affected by militancy, floods and earthquake but the governments didn’t do anything tangible for their rehabilitation and development.

They said the local residents were unable to pay taxes and if the government withdrew tax concessions, they would begin large-scale protests, shutter-down and wheel-jam strikes, and long marches.

They also warned that the people could also boycott upcoming elections if the need arose.

In Timergara, the lawmakers from Lower Dir expressed reservations about the new legislation and asked the government not to deprive Malakand division of Pata status to the benefit of local residents.

MPAs Bakht Baidar Khan and Izazul Mulk Afkari told reporters at the Chakdara Press Club that they welcomed the Fata-KP merger and congratulated the people of tribal areas for getting rid of the colonial law, FCR.

They however said tax free status shouldn’t be snatched from Malakand division.

Bakht Baidar warned that the local residents won’t accept any kind of taxes.

Izazul Mulk said the JI would arrange a protest campaign if tax-free zone status of Malakand was done away with.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2018