The Government and it’s two Pakhtun allies are resisting the popular demand for immediate merger of FATA with the KPK making the former No Man’s Land between Pakistan and Afghanistan as integral part of Pakistan.

It is the demand of the people, the FATA tribesmen, and the major political parties of Pakistan. Factually, it was the high powered Government Commission that suggested merger of FATA with the KPK in phases while the people and their chosen representatives overwhelmingly demanded instant merger.

Merger of FATA means that the people will become Pakistani citizens and instantly enjoying the constitutional, political, democratic and civic rights.

Government its two allies are opposed to grant those human rights to the FATA people for their pity political reasons. A sizable majority of people are enjoying the basic facilities and services from the Provincial Government and they are using Provincial Government institutions in this regard.

Strange enough that the people claiming to be democrats and human right activists and political leaders of the liberal parties are opposing the merger so that the status of No Man’s Land between Pakistan and Afghanistan should be retained by design and the tribal people are ruled under the FCR.

Major political parties of the country made a big show and demonstrated their political strength and will by organizing a protest rally in support of merger which irritated both the Government and the Establishment.

It was embarrassing for the Government that the major political parties held a significant protest rally in the Federal Capital and on FATA issue exposing the undemocratic designs of the Government. Government and its agencies claim exclusive domain on FATA disallowing others to speak.

The Establishment wants to retain its power in FATA and by all means. Thus the Islamabad rally on FATA is a snub to the Government and its agencies. On this, Maulana Fazlur Rehman held a public gathering in Peshawar after breaking the lock of a local stadium in which he tried to confuse the issue by demanding to hold a referendum on merger.

It is absurd to hold a referendum on an administrative issue of integrating FATA with rest of Pakistan. The FATA people want to be the citizens of Pakistan for which no referendum is needed. The issue is democratic, constitutional and basic human rights for FATA tribesmen that Maulana Fazlur Rehman wants to oppose at the behest of the Government or the establishment.

At the moment, they are governed under the laws of the jungle which has no place in any humane society. With one decision of merger, the people of FATA will start enjoying the same right which the Maulana got for the past seven decades.

Mr. Mahmood Khan is also opposed to the merger for unexplained reasons. He claims to be a liberal, democrat and a progressive man and still oppose to instant merger making the FATA tribesmen Pakistani citizens with all democratic rights Mr. Mahmood Khan and his family is enjoying. His father late Samad Khan Achakzai was a prime victim of FCR.

Merger of FATA means creating a bigger Pakhtun and more powerful Province in the Pakistani Federation. Presumably, he is afraid that in the second phase, annexed territories of Afghanistan now part of Balochistan for administrative reasons will also join the greater Pakhtun Province.

In such a case, he will lose his power and influence in a bigger province reducing his political importance. Or he is supporting the ‘status quo’ on the territorial issue between Pakistan and Afghanistan and opposed to the merger of so-called No Man’s Land governed by the bilateral agreement between British Empire in India and Afghanistan.

In any case, Baloch majority refuse to accept the annexed territories of Afghanistan as part of the Baloch Mainland. The British took an arbitrary decision to annex it and merge it with Balochistan and later on the military dictator Yahya Khan did a disservice to the people be retaining it as part of Balochistan for administrative reasons.

There is no opposition to creating a bigger and more powerful Pakhtun Province with the merger of FATA and northern Balochistan as part of KPK.