Mainstreaming FATA: the steps ahead

Decision needs to be taken whether Fata should be turned into a separate province or be merged with Pata

The process of national mainstreaming of Fata is taking time which is understandable considering the socioeconomic and political ramifications involved in developing a broad-based consensus among the directly affected people for what could only be a mini-revolution in their lives. A decision needs to be taken first on the status of Fata — whether it should be turned into a separate province or be merged with Pata, which again is to be mainstreamed into the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This phase should be handled with extra care and in consultation with the elected representatives of Fata, its legal fraternity and the political parties representing the region.

Next, the process of reforms needs to be implemented in controlled phases with each phase reaching its conclusion with near unanimity among the population involved. However, the forerunner of these phases would essentially be that of the rule of law. The very first act of the mainstreaming should be the repeal of the demeaning Frontier Crimes Regulation of 1901 and replacing it with the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 and the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 while keeping in mind the need to amalgam Rewaj — the customs, traditions and usages of tribes in Fata — into the legal framework. This should be followed up immediately with the appointment of district and sessions judges by the federal government in consultation with the high court, which could be aided by a jirga — a council of elders, with four or more members appointed by the district and sessions judge. The political agents will have to be replaced with the district magistrate, while the assistant political agents with the executive magistrates in the agencies. All this would come under the purview of the Peshawar High Court. Considering the ramifications, the process of mainstreaming Fata is expected to take at least five years to complete but the starting point should be the legal framework to be implemented gradually in phases in all seven tribal areas and the adjoining frontier regions. The next phase should be focused on mainstreaming the education and health systems along with the establishment of district administration.



It is only after a firm decision has been taken on the future status of Fata, the mainstreaming of the rule of law, the establishment of a well-oiled district administration in each of the seven agencies and completion of rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement work of internally displaced persons that issues such as enforcement of the Customs Act of 1969 in Pata should be considered. There is no need to rush through this reform. We have already lived all these years without collecting these taxes and while it goes without saying that eventually such a tax regime will need to be implemented in Pata, considering the sensitivities of the local people the government needs to go about enforcing this law with a lot of prudence.

In March this year, the federal government issued a notification for the enforcement of Custom’s law sparking protests across Malakand division and Kohistan district. The government then sought the opinion of relevant departments on how to effectively enforce the customs law in Pata without causing a negative reaction from the local residents. Political parties, traders and ordinary citizens, all residents of Malakand are opposed to the Customs law, especially due to the presence of non-customs paid vehicles in the division in large numbers, and therefore, the use of force for its enforcement seemed to be out of the question for the time being. According to some of those who have deep knowledge of the psyche of the people of the region, the Customs Act’s could be enforced without much trouble if in the trade-off the federal government were to launch a few mega development schemes in Pata. It is believed that this gesture would go a long way in appeasing local residents who had been suffering from the aftermath of natural disasters and militancy for several years.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2016.

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