Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s tribal districts remain under the control of armed groups, forcing residents to pay extortion money, adding that the state’s writ in the region was under serious question. He was addressing an All Parties Conference (APC) convened by the c in Islamabad, where leaders from major political parties came together to discuss law and order, constitutional rights, and provincial autonomy. The conference concluded with the presentation of a joint declaration outlining their demands.
Speaking at the event, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said armed groups were siphoning off ten percent of development funds approved by the government. He further questioned why, seven years after the merger of erstwhile FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there was still a need to revive the traditional jirga system.
ANP central president Senator Aimal Wali Khan, National Democratic Movement (NDM) chief Mohsin Dawar, Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, and BNP-M leader Sanaullah Baloch were among those who addressed the APC.
Reading out the APC declaration, Aimal Wali Khan said that the prevailing insecurity, terrorism, and violations of constitutional rights in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were the outcome of flawed internal and external policies of the past.
The declaration emphasized that sustainable peace and development in Pakistan would only be possible through democracy, supremacy of the Constitution, and safeguarding the legitimate rights of the provinces.
The conference demanded an immediate end to all ongoing military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and called for the establishment of a “Truth Commission,” under judicial supervision, to conduct impartial investigations into human and material losses.
It also urged the dismantling of so-called death squads and illegal armed groups to ensure the protection of citizens’ lives and property. The declaration further called for the full implementation of the 18th Constitutional Amendment in its true spirit, ensuring provinces receive their due powers.
The APC condemned the proposed conversion of the Frontier Constabulary (FC) into a Federal Constabulary and opposed the integration of the Levies force into the police in Balochistan. The declaration also expressed regret over the failure to apprehend the killers of ANP’s slain leaders and demanded the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the assassination of ANP leader Maulana Khanzeb.
Expressing concern over the recent floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the APC also announced the postponement of the “Islamabad Peace March,” initially scheduled for August 23. It said the new date would be decided in consultation among the participating parties.
Representatives of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), JUI-F, BNP-M, and other political groups also attended the APC.
