Pak Parliament passes FATA merger bill
■ Now, laws of Pakistan will be applicable in the tribal province and it will be part of KP
The landmark 31st Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2018 for merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas ( FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was passed by Pakistan’s National Assembly on Thursday.
The bill was moved by law minister Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk. Jamiat Ulema- e- Islam ( Fazal) and Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party opposed the bill however; MQM announced its support for the sake of political unity.
As many as 229 members voted in the favour of the bill while 11 opposed it. The bill was approved clause by clause.
With the passing of the bill, Khyber Pakhtunkhaw laws will be immediately enforceable in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas ( FATA) and it would also get Rs. 100 billion under NFC award.
Under the bill, the laws of Pakistan will be applicable in FATA. In addition, FATA will get Rs 1 billion every year for 10 years which will exclusively be for development in FATA. Also, FATA will now be a part of Khyber Pakhtunkhaw.
Twelve national and 6 provincial seats will remain intact till the elections of 2023. He further said that Frontier Crimes Regulations will be abolished and it will be replaced with an interim governance system till the inclusion of the region with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The seats of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the National assembly will be increased from 48 to 60 after the merger of FATA. The seats for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly will increase to 147 from the current 126 after its merger with FATA.