Legal experts at a roundtable conference emphasised the need to extend full citizenship rights to the people of Fata on Tuesday.
Although the participants commended the Frontier Crimes Regulation’s (FCR) amendment, they said people in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) continue to be discriminated against; they emphasized on the need to bring the residents of the tribal territory at par with rest of the country.
The conference, “The Evolving Constitutional and Legal Regime in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas”, was organised by Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme (CAMP) in collaboration with Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) at the Defence and Strategic Studies department of QAU.
Identifying the gap between the citizens and the state, senior lawyer and member of the Awami National Party Abdul Lateef Afridi alleged that the current treatment of Fata was a continuation of British Policies — designed to marginalise and exclude the territory. Afridi said that any method of initiating strong reforms in Pakistan must include the integration of Fata in K-P.
Babar Sattar, lawyer and columnist, criticised the legal framework and law and order situation in the tribal region. He said that an almost “apartheidesque” situation has been created in Fata.
Giving a brief history of the Fata region, Former Chief Justice Peshawar High Court Justice Mian Ajmal, Chairman of the FCR Reforms Committee, outlined how the military incursions and invasions have affected the area’s culture and society. Ajmal approved of the extension of the Political Parties Act in 2002, under which the Frontier Crimes Regulation was amended, and the people of Fata were given the right to appeal against the political agent’s decision in a court of law.
Dr Tariq Hussain, a senior legal advisor, emphasised the need for an inclusive system of governance for Fata, while Representative of National Democratic Institute (NDI) Daniel Loyacano, emphasised the importance of strengthening democracy in Pakistan.
The event is part of the second phase of the Communities for Change (CFC) project in Pakistan. The British High Commission and the Germany embassy are jointly sponsoring the project. The CFC project aims to empower communities from the Fata region for a better understanding of the local and regional governance issues, and to create momentum for change, which will help stabilise the border region of Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 5th, 2011.
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