PESHAWAR: Members of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) and the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) have expressed their reservations over the FATA merger bill which will be presented in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly today.
JUI-F workers, meanwhile, surrounded the KP assembly building and clashed with law enforcement in protest against the assembly considering passing the bill.
Workers of the party burned tyres, tried to lock the assembly building and tore posters of parliamentarians who voted in favour of the bill in the National Assembly.
The KP assembly has summoned a session at 2 pm in which the FATA-KP merger bill is likely to be presented.
On the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led provincial government has started contacting lawmakers to quickly resolve the matter.
According to reports, 24 MPAs from the Malakand Division have also shown reservations over the content of the bill.
PATA lawmakers remarked that inclusion of PATA in FATA-KP merger is not justified and if the government wants to change the status of PATA, they should offer a monetary package for the area.
Meanwhile, KP minister Shaukat Yousafzai has met Federal Law Minister Zafarullah Khan and briefed him on the issues the provincial government is facing in getting the bill passed in the assembly.
While talking to the media, Yousafzai said that the government had promised to resolve the concerns raised by PATA lawmakers.
Previously, PATA lawmakers showed their demands via a letter written by KP Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to his National Assembly counterpart Ayaz Sadiq.
They demanded declaring PATA and FATA as tax-free zones for at least 10 years.
The National Assembly and Senate have already passed the bill titled ‘Thirty-First Amendment Act 2018’, paving way for the FATA-KP merger.
