Daily Times

Peace had hardly been restored in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) which was infamous for being a hub of terrorism for 10 years, when now once again it is being transformed into its previous state.

This was said by former senator Afrasiab Khattak on Thursday.

He said that the culture of Talibanisation has given a huge loss to the country especially, he added, the people of FATA have paid a big price in this regard.

“Unfortunately, Talibanisation started to emerge significantly since the incumbent government came into power,” he alleged, adding that it happened owing to the policies of the government due to which Taliban found the perfect opportunity to impose their agenda in FATA and other parts of the country.

He was speaking at a seminar titled State of Human Rights in FATA organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in conjunction with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

Afrasiab Khattak highlighted that Taliban started to reestablish their links with Afghan agencies. “It will be very offensive and harmful if the government not reviews its policies regarding the issue,” he predicted.

Talking about some other overwhelming human rights issues in that region, the former senator said that after losing 100 million innocent brothers, the people of FATA are still deprived of any judicial system in the area.

“Indeed FATA remained under martial law practically,” he said, adding that’s why the Pashtun youngsters stood against military with their slogans.

“We can’t blame the youth of FATA for looking at military with suspicion as all their lives, they have never seen any intrusion from any other force,” Khattak explained.

Other speakers on the occasion stressed that the FATA bill under which FATA was merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should be immediately implemented in real means.

They discussed that the vested interest elements are still trying to linger on the matter, adding that they intended to run it as FATA so that they could make more money through vacuum system.

They highlighted that conducive environment is very pivotal for women rights as, they claimed, the economic empowerment in the country was impossible without empowering women.

While commenting on the FATA Regulation 2018, former senator Farhatullah Babar said that women and local government chapter was not even mentioned in the regulation.

“It should be amended to set up a civilian victims fund with focus on female victims of militancy,” he demanded.

“Ali Wazir’s mother’s speech in Pashtun Tahafuz Movement’s recent jalsa in Bannu has had a profound impact on the people of these areas. Empowerment of women is an integral part of the struggle for rights of the people of FATA,” said another speaker.

At the end, the speakers recommended that committees should be formulated in different sectors to protect rights of women in FATA. These committees would have full representation of women with a mandate to mend any human rights discrimination being faced by women.

Besides, the roundtable discussions should be held there in joint collaboration with local government and other human rights organisations to create awareness among women.

The engagement of local female teachers was also recommended in this regard. The speakers also suggested that the health population department should also be merged with local health department.

Published in Daily Times, November 16^th 2018.