Pakistan passes law to align tribal region with rest of country
By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's parliament on Thursday passed legislation to merge the country's tribal regions along the Afghan border with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a key step to ending the region's much-criticised colonial era governance system.
By Asif Shahzad
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's parliament on Thursday passed legislation to merge the country's tribal regions along the Afghan border with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a key step to ending the region's much-criticised colonial era governance system.
While security in the restive region has improved, for years Islamist militants including the Taliban and al Qaeda have used Waziristan and its surrounding tribal areas to train and launch attacks in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan, in part because the region has no government writ.
As a result, the region is central to efforts by Washington, Islamabad and others to combat militants.
The semi-autonomous region consists of seven big district and six towns known as Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and has been governed for over 150 years by colonial era tribal laws.
Rights groups have long argued that residents of FATA to have the same laws as the rest of Pakistan, pointing out that the use of collective punishment and other colonial-era laws against local people tramples basic rights.
"The law this parliament passed today will, God willing, bring positive results," Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said after the 372 member house adopted the amendment with a 229 votes majority supported by ruling and opposition parties.
He said the region will be governed with rights equal to other parts of the country.
The reform bill was delayed for years mainly due to political wrangling but has long been demanded by the local population.
Abbasi said local elections in the region would be held this year to kick start a political process and said future governments will spend 100 billion rupees ($865 million) a year for a decade on development.
Over the past decade Pakistan's military has launched several operations in FATA, displacing many people now forced to live in camps in districts just outside the tribal regions.
(Writing by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
also read
France, Germany to agree to NATO role against Islamic State - sources | Reuters
By Robin Emmott and John Irish | BRUSSELS/PARIS BRUSSELS/PARIS France and Germany will agree to a U.S. plan for NATO to take a bigger role in the fight against Islamic militants at a meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday, but insist the move is purely symbolic, four senior European diplomats said.The decision to allow the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to join the coalition against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq follows weeks of pressure on the two allies, who are wary of NATO confronting Russia in Syria and of alienating Arab countries who see NATO as pushing a pro-Western agenda."NATO as an institution will join the coalition," said one senior diplomat involved in the discussions. "The question is whether this just a symbolic gesture to the United States
China's Xi says navy should become world class | Reuters
BEIJING Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for greater efforts to make the country's navy a world class one, strong in operations on, below and above the surface, as it steps up its ability to project power far from its shores.China's navy has taken an increasingly prominent role in recent months, with a rising star admiral taking command, its first aircraft carrier sailing around self-ruled Taiwan and a new aircraft carrier launched last month.With President Donald Trump promising a US shipbuilding spree and unnerving Beijing with his unpredictable approach on hot button issues including Taiwan and the South and East China Seas, China is pushing to narrow the gap with the U.S. Navy.Inspecting navy headquarters, Xi said the navy should "aim for the top ranks in the world", the Defence Ministry said in a statement about his visit."Building a strong and modern navy is an important mark of a top ranking global military," the ministry paraphrased Xi as saying.