anti custom act action committee meeting at Fishing Hut Chakdara. By Ahmad Shah
- 8 years ago
Haleem Asad
TIMERGARA: Supporting the agitation schedule of Malakand action committee on the issue of custom act extension, the elected parliamentarians both from treasury and opposition benches on Sunday announced to table call attention notices and resolutions against the act in their respective houses like senate, national assembly and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly. The announcement was made during a joint meeting of the action committee and elected lawmakers held at the Fishing Hut Chakdara with former provincial minister and MPA Bakht Baidar Khan in the chair. The meeting was also attended by leaders of traders’ community from Swat, Malakand, Bunir, Dir and Shangla, presidents of district bar associations and former lawmakers.
Spokesman of the Malakand action committee and QWP leader Fazal Rehman Nonu said that 27 MPAs, 10 MNAs and four senators besides a dozen of provincial ministers and advisors belonged to Malakand division. He said it was a considerable strength of parliamentarians and if they sincerely supported the public agitation campaign the government could no way implement the custom act.
Speaking on the occasion MNAs Dr Ibadullah of PML-N, Sher Akbar Khan of JI, Junaid Akbar Khan of PTI, MPAs Bakht Baidar Khan of QWP, Haidar Ali of PTI, Jafar Shah of ANP, Fazal Hakim of PTI, Mufti Fazal Ghafor of JUI-F, Sahibada Sanaullah of PPP and others clarified that they had played their role in raising the custom act issue on assembly floors. They said the government could only be pressurized if all political leadership like Khurshid Shah, Maulana Fazal Rehman, Ghulam Ahmad Bilaur, Amir Muqam, Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Siraj ul Haq also supported them on the floors. They said the people of Malakand division had always supported movement against the Kala Bagh dam despite the fact that their area was not affected by its construction. “Therefore political leadership out of Malakand should also support us against the implementation of custom act in Malakand division,” the PTI lawmaker Junaid Akbar said.
The lawmakers said they would fully support the July, 27 shutter down and Aug, 5 complete wheel jam strike in all districts of Malakand division and would mobile party workers to make it a success. The elected MNAs, MPAs and senators announced they would never hesitate to tender their resignation from parliament once the Malakand action committee directed them to do so. “It is a matter of life and death for us and we will go to any extend to force the federal government to repeal the act as soon as possible,” said PML-N lawmaker Dr Ibadullah, who is also brother of the advisor to prime minister Engineer Amir Muqam. The meeting was informed that the federal government had returned the summary moved by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government regarding with drawl of custom act with observations.
One of the speakers while justifying the demand of custom act with drawl said the federation had signed a written accord with representatives of Malakand division in 1954 when Fata status of Dir, Swat, Chitral and Malakand was abolished and these districts were declared as provincially administered tribal area (PATA). Majority of the speakers said the federal government was not heeding to their demand and wanted to test nerves of the people of Malakand. They said that no political party could support the custom act in the area because doing so was tantamount of their political killing.
TIMERGARA: Supporting the agitation schedule of Malakand action committee on the issue of custom act extension, the elected parliamentarians both from treasury and opposition benches on Sunday announced to table call attention notices and resolutions against the act in their respective houses like senate, national assembly and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly. The announcement was made during a joint meeting of the action committee and elected lawmakers held at the Fishing Hut Chakdara with former provincial minister and MPA Bakht Baidar Khan in the chair. The meeting was also attended by leaders of traders’ community from Swat, Malakand, Bunir, Dir and Shangla, presidents of district bar associations and former lawmakers.
Spokesman of the Malakand action committee and QWP leader Fazal Rehman Nonu said that 27 MPAs, 10 MNAs and four senators besides a dozen of provincial ministers and advisors belonged to Malakand division. He said it was a considerable strength of parliamentarians and if they sincerely supported the public agitation campaign the government could no way implement the custom act.
Speaking on the occasion MNAs Dr Ibadullah of PML-N, Sher Akbar Khan of JI, Junaid Akbar Khan of PTI, MPAs Bakht Baidar Khan of QWP, Haidar Ali of PTI, Jafar Shah of ANP, Fazal Hakim of PTI, Mufti Fazal Ghafor of JUI-F, Sahibada Sanaullah of PPP and others clarified that they had played their role in raising the custom act issue on assembly floors. They said the government could only be pressurized if all political leadership like Khurshid Shah, Maulana Fazal Rehman, Ghulam Ahmad Bilaur, Amir Muqam, Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Siraj ul Haq also supported them on the floors. They said the people of Malakand division had always supported movement against the Kala Bagh dam despite the fact that their area was not affected by its construction. “Therefore political leadership out of Malakand should also support us against the implementation of custom act in Malakand division,” the PTI lawmaker Junaid Akbar said.
The lawmakers said they would fully support the July, 27 shutter down and Aug, 5 complete wheel jam strike in all districts of Malakand division and would mobile party workers to make it a success. The elected MNAs, MPAs and senators announced they would never hesitate to tender their resignation from parliament once the Malakand action committee directed them to do so. “It is a matter of life and death for us and we will go to any extend to force the federal government to repeal the act as soon as possible,” said PML-N lawmaker Dr Ibadullah, who is also brother of the advisor to prime minister Engineer Amir Muqam. The meeting was informed that the federal government had returned the summary moved by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government regarding with drawl of custom act with observations.
One of the speakers while justifying the demand of custom act with drawl said the federation had signed a written accord with representatives of Malakand division in 1954 when Fata status of Dir, Swat, Chitral and Malakand was abolished and these districts were declared as provincially administered tribal area (PATA). Majority of the speakers said the federal government was not heeding to their demand and wanted to test nerves of the people of Malakand. They said that no political party could support the custom act in the area because doing so was tantamount of their political killing.