ISLAMABAD, SEPT 08 (DNA) – Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has directed the Law and Justice minister for fast track legislative and administrative measures for bringing the people of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the mainstream, so that they can have access to the fundamental rights on par with the people in the rest of the country.

The PM stated this while chairing a meeting of a high-level National Committee on the Implementation of FATA Reforms here on Friday. Other members of the committee who attended the meeting included Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, KP Chief Minister Parvez Khattak, Minister for SAFRON Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch, Law and Justice Minister Zahid Hamid, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Sartaj Aziz, and senior civil and military officials.

The committee noted with satisfaction the positive response in the Parliament and in the tribal areas for the FATA reform package, which was approved by the cabinet on March 2, 2017. The committee also took many decisions to expedite the process of implementation.

The committee approved the fast track recruitment of police and redeployment of some of the Frontier Constabulary, after training, to perform police functions. It was also decided to put in place an appropriate administrative mechanism for the transition period. It was decided to create a position of Chief Operating Officer for the period of transition.

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa briefed the committee on the successes achieved in extending the writ of state throughout FATA and on the steps taken to strengthen the security and border infrastructure, as well as the development efforts during the last few years.

PM Abbasi, in his remarks, reiterated that the basic purpose of these reforms was to improve the lives of the people of FATA—who have suffered enormously due to a long war, insurgency and widespread displacement in the past three decades.