Daily Times

On August 26, 2016, the FATA reforms committee completed its deliberations on reforms in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which were presented to Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif in November 2016. Between December 2016 and May 2018, the people of FATA waited for implementation of these reforms. Yet, these reforms were unnecessarily delayed, making the entire process dubious and frustrating the tribal people. However, on May 25, 2018, the FATA merger bill was placed before the Parliament and was hastily passed with a two-third majority.

The FATA bill was passed with a national consensus. However, there was np consensus of the people of the concerned area. Meaning FATA was merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP) without going through the appropriate process. Perhaps, FATA is one of the few cases in the world where a merger or annexation of territory happened on the whims and will of people living in other provinces of the state.

What is the end result of this faulty and delayed process of reforms and merger? Anger, frustration, and lack of hope became a driving force behind a movement for civil rights. Within days of the merger and passing of the interim order for FATA by the President of Pakistan, the Pakistani regime started repressing Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).This has been the Pakistani state’s standard approach to both violent and non-violent challengers from within. This kind of repression has already backfired in the case of Balochistan. Such an approach against tribal Pashtuns would further aggravate the situation and damage Pakistan’s already tarnished image.

At this point, the state must rethink its old strategy against such movements in Pakistan. There are massive political, constitutional, social and developmental crises in the tribal areas, meaning this conflict must be resolved before it creates rift within the country that cannot be bridged and diplomatic embarrassment internationally. The way out is to rethink this ill-conceived merger and reforms.

It is important to address the grievances of PTM by establishing a peace commission. In fact, this may be the only way to ensure peace and stability in the tribal areas

Conflicts need resolution, and this can only be achieved by addressing all the contentious issues. Here the issues are consent, human rights abuses, political, social, legal and developmental issues, and environment of moving towards civil peace, which refers to the absence of violent internal conflicts. PTM’s struggle for human rights, a merger without consent and reforms with no positive movement have created a ‘conflict trap’ in FATA. In this case, a high quality of life, basic fundamental institutions to establish and enforce rule of law, provision of basic goods and services, and a greater participation reduces the likelihood of any renewed conflict.

A long history of violent conflict produces negative long term social, economic and political consequences. Hence, there is a need to rebuild infrastructure, trust and relationships. It also has a long-term health impact crisis in societies because it creates deep social and political divides. In such situations, powerful elements takeover all political culture, leaving little space for negotiations and compromise.

Constructing a reliable, legitimate and accountable institutions is what is needed, and this can be done through an interim administrative set up during the transition period. PTM, FATA youth Jirga and Aman committees all are moving in different directions. In this regard, an interim set up of a non-partisan nature can help to find a way out of this ‘conflict trap’ in the tribal areas. PTM has extended the battlefield of problems of FATA to the rest of the Pashtun areas, thus making it more difficult to negotiate. While the presence of the Taliban after so many military operations is also a source of deep concern for the future of peace in FATA.

It is thus important to address the grievances of PTM by establishing a peace commission. In fact this may be the only way to ensure peace and stability in the tribal areas. The failure of truth and reconciliation commissions in South Africa is evident and makes it impossible to establish such a commission in Pakistan. However, a Peace commission could record cases of the aggrieved families, human rights abuses and grievances during years of conflict and develop a mechanism to address such grievances.

Building an infrastructure of peace at both social, political, legal and developmental areas is critical. It should also involve a trust building commission where the residents of the tribal areas are able to register the issues which are creating trust deficit between the state and people of the area. It is also important to re-define the terms of agreement between the tribal areas and Pakistan as previously they were defined between MA Jinnah and Bannu Tribal Jirga in 1948. Sweeping consent and agreements under the carpet and creating a new social-political set up overnight with no ground work will have a long-term impact on the structure of the system and the strategic mechanism through which such a structure is supposed to work.

The controversial new interim order by the President of Pakistan also calls for the administration of justice, maintenance of peace and good governance. Instead of using the interim setup to crush dissent, the order should be considered a last opportunity for peace. A Peace which rests on a three-tier approach: peace commission, infrastructure for peace and trust building commission. In place of bureaucracy with its 71 years of tainted history in FATA, it is important to include academia, civil society, and other non-partisan individuals and groups to carry out these commissions’ functions for a period of two years. A peace through the people approach is the only feasible way out from the conflict trap in FATA.

The writer is a Research Fellow at Harvard University, she can be contacted at sorakzai@fas.harvard.edu

Published in Daily Times, June 9^th 2018.