Abb Takk News
Abbtakk Pakistan News Ticker Pakistan Top News TRENDING

KP Assembly Likely To Pass FATA-KP Merger Bill Today

Peshawar (May 27, 2018): The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assembly has summoned a session at 2pm on Sunday (Today) to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill 2018 for merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa today. The FATA-KP merger bill was passed unanimously in National Assembly and Senate respectively on Thursday and Friday.

Lawmakers of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) have expressed their reservations over the FATA-KP merger bill.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led provincial government has started contacts with the lawmakers to resolve the building crisis.

Click Play Button To Watch This Video

It has been learnt that 24 MPAs from Malakand Division have expressed their reservations over the content of the bill.

The PATA lawmakers maintain that inclusion of PATA in FATA-KP merger is unjustifiable, and if the government wants to change the status of PATA it should announce a monetary package for the area.

Meanwhile, KP minister Shaukat Yousafzai has met Federal Law Minister Zafarullah Khan and apprised him on the issues the provincial government is facing in getting the bill passed from the assembly.

Yousufzai has told media that the federal government has promised to resolve the concerns raised by PATA lawmakers.The Senate approved on Friday the constitutional amendment bill on the merger of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

During the session, 71 lawmakers voted in favour of nine clauses of the constitutional amendment bill while five were against them.

Besides, 28 lawmakers were absent from the House during the session.

Click Play Button To Watch This Video

The bill titled Thirty-First Amendment Act, 2018 was presented by Minister for Law and Justice Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk, while the session is being headed by Senate Chairperson Sadiq Sanjrani.

After the approval from the Senate, President Mamnoon Hussain will sign it turning into a law.

Earlier on Thrusday, the National Assembly passed “Constitution (Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2018” with over two- thirds majority paving the way for the merger. Two hundred and twenty-nine members parliamentarians voted in favour of the constitution amendment while one voted against it. The bill was opposed by government-allied parties Jamiat-e-ulema-Islam (JUI-F) and Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP).

The amendment will bring an end to colonial-era laws governing the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), extending the writ of Pakistani courts to its districts and increasing development assistance to its residents.

Moreover, the KP assembly has summoned a session at 2pm on Sunday to mull over merger strategy. However, JUI-F have announced to surround the provincial assembly to protest passage of bill.‘Bill passed with national consensus’
“Today this house has approved a historic bill, which will have very positive effects for Pakistan. I thank the opposition for their support,” Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told legislators after the vote.

“We need to provide (FATA residents) with all those facilities which are available to the people in the rest of Pakistan,” he added.

PM Abbasi also said that a committee worked for over two years and presented a report that had led to the constitution of the FATA implementation committee.“The committee report was assessed by civil and military leadership including the army chief,” he said, adding that the bill was approved with a consensus of the government and opposition members.

“I am thankful especially to Khursheed Shah, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and Farooq Sattar,” he said.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad later in the day (Thursday), he said the government made efforts to achieve consensus for four years, and today, the amendment has been adopted with the two-third majority to mainstream FATA. He thanked all the parties for cooperation in passing the bill in the National Assembly.

Click Play Button To Watch This Video

He also vowed that FCR would be scrapped from FATA after implementation of  FATA bill.

The Prime Minister said the amendment will initiate a process to ensure development and equal rights to the people of FATA.

“One hundred billion rupees per year will be spent for ten years to bring FATA at par with other parts of the country in terms of development and other facilities,” he said adding that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government will implement this development agenda in FATA.Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said local bodies elections will also be held in FATA this year to devolve powers at the grassroots level.

He dispelled the impression of any foreign pressure for FATA’s merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Responding to a question regarding the nomination of the caretaker prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said no agreement has so far been reached between him and opposition leader Syed Khurshid Shah about it.

Voting
As NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq earlier called for voting on the clauses of the bill, 229 lawmakers voted in favour of the first clause while 11 opposed it. Meanwhile, the second clause was favoured by 229 lawmakers and opposed by three.‘KP Assembly seats to increase to 147’
The draft bill seeks to amend seven articles in the Constitution of Pakistan to allow implementation of proposed reforms.

The bill seeks an amendment to Article 1 of the Constitution, which defines the country’s territory and mentions FATA as a separate entity along with other four provinces.

The bill also seeks to increase the number seats for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly to 147 from the current 126.The general seats of the provincial assembly will increase from 99 to 117, the bill states. Moreover, the seats for women will be increased from 22 to 26, while religious minorities’ seats will increase from three to four.

According to the sub-section of the bill, FATA will be granted 18 general seats, four seats for women and one for religious minorities.

Moreover, FATA’s 12 seats in National Assembly will be merged in KP Assembly and KP seats will increase from 48 to 60 in the National Assembly.

Related News:

KP-FATA Merger Bill Approved in Senate

PM Vows to Scrap FCR Law From FATA