Sunday, August 30, 2015

Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto calls for FATA reforms, announces intra party elections in KhyberPakhtunkhuwa

Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari  has called for mainstreaming FATA by giving its fundamental rights and local self governments in the tribal Agencies.
This he said during meetings with representatives of Peoples Youth Organization PYO and Peoples Students Federation in Zardari House Saturdayevening.
Today was the sixth day of Chairman Bilawal’s meetings with party cadres from different parts of Punjab, KPK and FATA.
Chairman PPP also declared holding of intra party elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a phased manner to serve as model for intra party elections not only in the province but throughout the country.
Talking about FATA he recalled that Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari has also addressed recently a letter to the Prime Minister on this subject and directed the party parliamentarians to pursue the issue of FATA reforms in the Parliament.
He said it was strange that while the Constitution declared that FATA to be part of Pakistan its people were denied basic rights as guaranteed to the people of other parts of the country because the Constitution barred the superior courts from exercising jurisdiction in the tribal areas.
If we want peace in tribal areas we have to give strategic importance to the people and empower its people.  Empowerment is linked to sense of justice and sense of participation of the people in their own affairs, he said.
Bilawla Bhutto said that a governing structure that is not based on the will of the people cannot resist the militants. Had there been people participation in FATA the area would not have been taken over by others so easily.
He said that political reforms and empowering people in tribal areas will strengthen and not weaken national security.
Spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also called for devising a mechanism for holding elections to local self governments in each Agency in the tribal areas. The mechanism should be based on adult franchise, transparency, and duly empowered local government bodies, he said.
He also called for separating judicial functions and authorities from the executive authorities and functions in the tribal areas and said that the local Agency governments should have a say in the formation of tribal Jirgas as alternate dispute resolution mechanism.
About the intra party elections in KPK Bilawal Bhutto said that the organizing committees for holding these elections will be set up on the basis of broad based consultations and its members will not be allowed to contest election to any party office to ensure neutrality and impartiality. He said that initially intra party electiosn will be held in four districts of KPK.
The KPK meeting was attended by Barrister Masood Kausar, Lal Khan, Abdul Akbar Khan, Tariq Khattak, Azam Afridi, Yawar Naseer, Tahir Abbas, Mian Muzaffar Shah besides others.  Ms Faryal Talpur, Sherry Rehman and Jameel Soomoro. Also attended the meeting.
https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2015/08/29/chairman-ppp-bilawal-bhutto-zardari-calls-for-fata-reforms-announces-intra-party-elections-in-khyberpakhtunkhuwa/

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