Siraj highlights plight of FATA’s people

Says a system of self-governance should be introduced in the tribal belt.

PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq has urged the federal government to separate administrative and judicial systems in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA).

Speaking at a news conference at Markaz-e-Islami on Saturday after meeting delegations of FATA elders, Siraj said the judicial system which has been extended to the tribal belt is controlled by the executive administration of each agency. As a result, the general public has not reaped its benefits.

The JI amir drew attention to the problem within the Frontier Crimes Regulation. This law was first introduced by the British in the 1850s to rein in Pukhtun tribesmen living in what is now FATA.

The law has infamously stripped tribal citizens of three basic rights — the right to appeal their detention, the right to legal representation, and the right to present reasoned evidence. “The FCR has suppressed the people and deprived them of basic human rights,” he said. “If the FCR is a good law, it should also be extended to Islamabad and not just in FATA.”

Siraj suggested a system of self-governance, like the one in Gilgit-Baltistan, should be introduced in the tribal belt.

“This will give the people of FATA some reprieve from the control of political agents,” the JI amir added.

According to Siraj, legal and political reforms for the tribal areas should only be introduced in consultation with the tribespeople.

“Such changes should not be imposed by officers and politicians in Islamabad,” said the JI chief.

The JI chief has also pressed the federal government to provide special tax exemptions to traders from FATA. Moreover, he said Article 147 of the Constitution of Pakistan is a massive hurdle towards development in FATA. The provision bans FATA parliamentarians from taking part in constitutional matters about FATA without prior permission of the President.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2015.