Timely reforms in FATA

There can be few relics of the colonial era more detested than the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). There have been innumerable calls for its reform and a number of half-hearted attempts at change in the past, none leading anywhere substantial. Finally, and with a sense of careful completeness that says attention to detail has been paid — the FCR is to be replaced with something that is a mix of both old and new and combines important elements of tribal culture with modern law-making. The Nizam-e-Adl Act 2016 is the proposed legal framework that will lead to the repeal of the FCR 1901 and extend the jurisdiction of the superior courts for the first time to Fata.

The new legislation brings together elements of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 and, crucially, Rewaj that embodies the customs, practice and usages of the tribes of the area that have been a part of the dispensation of justice for many centuries. The political agent is to be rebranded as the district magistrate and the assistant political agents will become executive magistrates in the tribal agencies. The district and sessions judge will be appointed by the federal government and will be referred to as the Qazi who will be advised and aided by a jirga or council of elders.



There is a plethora of other details that adds up to a credible structure and speaks of consultation having taken place along the line. The anomalous nature of all the tribal areas, their lack of investment and development, their marginalisation and latterly the displacement of large sections of their population in the course of Operation Zarb-e-Azb — all require long-term effective remedies. The replacement of the FCR is going to be complex, it is not a plug and play option and will require careful implementation over five years — a not unreasonable time frame given the nature of the task. Much is going to depend on the quality and competencies of the bureaucrats tasked with their implementation, something of an unknown, but that said this is one of the most encouraging developments for Fata in many years.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2016.

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