On 13 September, the federal cabinet of Abbasi approved the decision to table the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) reforms bill in the National Assembly for the extension of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Islamabad High Court to the FATA as part of steps towards the merger of former with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On 12 January 2018, the National Assembly successfully passed the bill to extend the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Peshawar High Court to the FATA. Upon the passage of the bill, Abbasi said "It is a historic measure for tribesmen and it can also help repeal the decades-old Frontier Crimes Regulation."