Federal Cabinet approves recommendations of FATA Reforms Committee
The premier said equal opportunities should be provided to every one for development.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - The Federal Cabinet has approved principle recommendations of the FATA Reforms Committee.
The meeting of the cabinet was held in Islamabad on Thursday with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the chair.
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stressed the need for focusing on development of under-developed areas for improving the living standards of the people.
The premier said due shares will be given from the national resources to Azad Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and FATA people.
He said it is obligatory for the Federal and provincial governments to also work for the welfare of the people of these regions.
Nawaz Sharif said the spirit of Pakistani at should be promoted for the national cohesion. He said we should work for the development of every part of the country without any discrimination.
The Prime Minister said equal opportunities should be provided to every one for development.
He said tribal people are patriotic and they love Pakistan. He said time has come that the tribal people will be brought into mainstream to end their sense deprivation.
A six-member Committee on FATA Reforms was constituted by the Prime Minister in November 2015, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Sartaj Aziz, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, to start working with immediate effect and to propose, after consulting all stakeholders, a concrete way forward for the political mainstreaming of FATA.
Other Members of the Committee were Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Zafar Iqbal Jhagra, Minister for SAFRON Lt. Gen (Retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch, Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid, National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. (Retd) Nasser Khan Janjua and Secretary SAFRON Muhammad Shehzad Arbab.
As required under Article 247(vi) of the Constitution, the FATA Reforms Committee visited all the 7 tribal agencies on the dates indicated against each and held a separate meeting with representatives of 6 Frontier Regions in Peshawar.
In all, Committee consulted over 3500 tribal maliks and elders during these visits. In addition, in each agency, the Committee also met representatives of all political parties, traders, lawyers, youth and representatives of civil society.
The Committee also held four consultative meetings with FATA Parliamentarians. The very first meeting of the FRC was held with 19 FATA Parliamentarians on 10th December, 2015, where the Parliamentarians gave the committee a written memorandum containing 7 points of advice; they gave the committee the right to choose the best future trajectory that FATA should take, including its mainstreaming.
The Committee presented its report to the Prime Minister on 23 August 2016 and to the National Security Committee on 24 August 2016. The Prime Minister, while endorsing the Committee s recommendations, in principle, directed that the Report should be made public and also presented to Parliament for discussion.
