Context
The Awami National Party (ANP) demanded a merger of FATA within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Sunday. A FATA jirga held at Nishtar Hall welcomed ANP KP President Senator Afrasiab Khattakâs proposal to award Provincially Administrative Tribal Areas (PATA) status to FATA.
Khattak also welcomed the presidential order of extending the Political Parties Act to FATA and said the demand is feasible and will appease the tribesmen, and will result in restoring communication links between different agencies.
At the jirga, KP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain expressed resentment over the secret peace dialogues between US and Taliban, and stated, it would fail.
