Time to bring FATA home

Streamlining administrative system in Fata will not only be beneficial for tribal areas, but for whole of Pakistan

In an unprecedented and decidedly welcome show of unity, all 19 Fata lawmakers tabled in the National Assembly on September 9 the 22^nd Constitutional Amendment Bill 2015, calling for granting of full citizenship rights to Fata’s estimated seven million residents. It proposes amending Articles 246 and 247 of the Constitution to turn Fata into Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata) and merge it into neighbouring Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and give its residents access to provincial and federal courts. The amendment, if passed, would affect the frontier regions of Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, DI Khan and Tank, as well as the seven tribal agencies, Bajaur, Orakzai, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, North and South Waziristan.

Streamlining the administrative system in Fata is expected to be beneficial not only for the people of the tribal areas, but for the whole of Pakistan. Indeed, this is perhaps the most appropriate time for bringing Fata into Pakistan’s mainstream as the region’s traditional systems of governance are in a shambles because of the ongoing war against militancy. And perhaps, the move would automatically put to rest for all times to come the question of our permanent border with Afghanistan, which had been rendered vague because of the tribal character of the region. Operation Zarb-e Azb seems to be in its last stages and the internally displaced population of about 1.5 million is reportedly all set to move back to their homes. Fata residents have paid a heavy price in terms of human lives in the decades’ long insurgency and the conflict has ruined the region’s economy.

Even before the advent of the current conflict, Fata was one of the most impoverished regions of Pakistan. The people here have been living all these 68 years under the most inhuman set of laws based on the ruthless concept of collective responsibility and collective punishment. In fact, since the day we won our independence, these Pakistanis have been living under this shameful colonial law. We howl and bawl for the Palestinians and for the Muslims of Myanmar. And while their causes should be highlighted, we have completely ignored the agony and pain that we have continued to cause are our own Pakistani citizens. We have shown no feelings at all. Under the Frontier Crime Regulation, residents of Fata are deprived of the right to appeal detention, the right to legal representation and the right to present evidence. The collective responsibility and punishment clause imposes severe punishment on anyone in the tribal areas (now changed to family members, which in a tribal society means the entire tribe itself) for a crime committed by him or her relative, spouse, or even any other person from the same tribe and area. Innocent women, children and the elderly are known to have suffered and continue to suffer imprisonment for years under this clause.

Under the current dispensation, the political agent in Fata or his deputy wield immense executive and judicial powers and no regulatory mechanism exists to hold his hand from misusing these powers. The offices of political agents are said to be bought and sold at a premium. Former president Asif Ali Zardari, to his credit, extended the Political Parties Order to Fata. Some political parties did put up their candidates in the previous general elections held in May 2013, but ironically enough, while these elected Fata MNAs and senators can participate in the national legislative process, they have no powers to do the same for their own constituencies. Strategic reasons are said to be what is holding up genuine reforms in Fata. But it is on the strategic front itself that these inhuman set of laws has failed to deliver, as despite the existence of these harsh laws all these years, the area has remained a lawless no-man’s land for criminals, and for many years provided a safe sanctuary for the militants now waging war against Pakistan. So it would only be strategically appropriate if all stakeholders tasked to ensure the country’s security were to back the proposed amendment.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2015.

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