GHALANAI: The Mohmand tribal elders have threatened to boycott the upcoming general elections in protest against merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Addressing a jirga at Ghalanai Bazaar on Monday, the tribal elders threatened to launch a massive campaign against the merger of Fata with the province.

JUI-F local chief Mohammad Arif Haqqani, Malik Nader Manan Kodakhel, Malik Sultan Khan, Malik Ayaz Khan Haleemzai, Malik Ziarat Gul, Malik Ahmad Khan, Malik Aurangzeb and Mohmand Welfare Organisation president Mir Afzal told journalists that they would not accept the decision of merger imposed on tribal people.

The protesters marched through bazaar and chanted slogans against the political parties that supported merger of Fata with the province. They urged tribal people to reject candidates of all those political parties that supported the merger plan.

The participants of the jirga demanded of the government to construct Kalabagh Dam as the country could face acute water shortage in near future.

Malik Nader Manan said that tribal people were democratic citizens therefore they wanted a separate province or an elected council like Gilgit-Baltistan. “We don’t accept deployment of police in Fata as it is against the tribal customs and traditions,” he added.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2018