FATA: How to tame Pakistan’s ‘wild western frontier’
Experts say ignoring Tribal Areas led to extremism, reforms required.
LAHORE:
The government’s “undemocratic” mindset was blamed for the situation in tribal areas at a conference on the Emerging Security Situation in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on Tuesday.
The roundtable was organised as part of the Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme (CAMP) at Forman Christian College University in collaboration with the Department of Public Policy and Governance.
The discussion featured Dr Rasul Bux Rais, professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences; journalist Ejaz Haider; Dr Saeed Shafqat, head of the department of Public Policy and Governance at FC College; and Dr Ijaz Khan, chairman of Peshawar University’s Department of International Relations.
In his introduction, Dr Khan focused on the administrative history of Fata. He said that the areas were designated as Fata by the British Raj to deal with ‘the wild frontier’.
He said that the recent revisions to the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) had not brought about a significant change in the region but expressed hope that opening it to political activities will have a positive influence. “The main hurdle is the mindset of those in power,” he said. Dr Khan said that Pakistan’s policy vis-a-vis Fata was to treat it as a “rental space,” which could be used in whatever way the renters wanted.
Ejaz Haider, complained of a dearth of reliable information relating to Fata, said that terrorist organisations had inculcated the perception that the state is not “Islamic enough”, which had fanned extremism. Haider stated that the confrontational relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan, too, has contributed greatly to the marginalising of Fata. This, he said, had led to space being created for multi-state interference in the Tribal Areas.
Professor Rasul Bux Rais said that Fata had been impacted by colonialism, the Cold War and Pak-Afghan relations. Rais said that though the British Raj was responsible for the geography of the Tribal Areas, the Cold War had the deepest influence on the region.
“Western powers and their interests resulted in the shift of power towards religious extremist organisations,” he said. With the import of religious extremists to Fata from Saudi Arabia, parts of Central Asia and Africa, the situation worsened, he said. Rais also blamed the “drug economy” for contributing to the destabilisation of the region.
He emphasised the importance of reforms in Fata and said that all the legitimate and illegitimate actors needed to be identified and brought to the table so that the region’s problems can be addressed.
The event was part of the second phase of the Communities for Change (CFC) project in Pakistan. The British High Commission and Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany are jointly sponsoring the project.
The CFC project aims at empowering communities from the tribal areas (residents and diaspora) to better understand local and regional governance issues, and to create a momentum for change.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2011.
The government’s “undemocratic” mindset was blamed for the situation in tribal areas at a conference on the Emerging Security Situation in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on Tuesday.
The roundtable was organised as part of the Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme (CAMP) at Forman Christian College University in collaboration with the Department of Public Policy and Governance.
The discussion featured Dr Rasul Bux Rais, professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences; journalist Ejaz Haider; Dr Saeed Shafqat, head of the department of Public Policy and Governance at FC College; and Dr Ijaz Khan, chairman of Peshawar University’s Department of International Relations.
In his introduction, Dr Khan focused on the administrative history of Fata. He said that the areas were designated as Fata by the British Raj to deal with ‘the wild frontier’.
He said that the recent revisions to the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) had not brought about a significant change in the region but expressed hope that opening it to political activities will have a positive influence. “The main hurdle is the mindset of those in power,” he said. Dr Khan said that Pakistan’s policy vis-a-vis Fata was to treat it as a “rental space,” which could be used in whatever way the renters wanted.
Ejaz Haider, complained of a dearth of reliable information relating to Fata, said that terrorist organisations had inculcated the perception that the state is not “Islamic enough”, which had fanned extremism. Haider stated that the confrontational relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan, too, has contributed greatly to the marginalising of Fata. This, he said, had led to space being created for multi-state interference in the Tribal Areas.
Professor Rasul Bux Rais said that Fata had been impacted by colonialism, the Cold War and Pak-Afghan relations. Rais said that though the British Raj was responsible for the geography of the Tribal Areas, the Cold War had the deepest influence on the region.
“Western powers and their interests resulted in the shift of power towards religious extremist organisations,” he said. With the import of religious extremists to Fata from Saudi Arabia, parts of Central Asia and Africa, the situation worsened, he said. Rais also blamed the “drug economy” for contributing to the destabilisation of the region.
He emphasised the importance of reforms in Fata and said that all the legitimate and illegitimate actors needed to be identified and brought to the table so that the region’s problems can be addressed.
The event was part of the second phase of the Communities for Change (CFC) project in Pakistan. The British High Commission and Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany are jointly sponsoring the project.
The CFC project aims at empowering communities from the tribal areas (residents and diaspora) to better understand local and regional governance issues, and to create a momentum for change.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2011.