Daily Times

The Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) was a no go area a century ago; a century later it is still a no go area. The colonial powers introduced the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) for the ruling of FATA. According to the FCR, a political agent would handle the administration of the area while tribal elders would work as intermediates between the colonists and local population. For colonial powers, this area was critical in the great game played between the English and Russians but they found it impossible to subjugate the will of FATA residents entirely and had to be content with the semi-autonomous status of FATA. The unprecedented powers bestowed upon political agents and tribal leaders resulted in widespread atrocities and the misuse of power. Thus, the FCR and its tentacles were named as the black laws. The political agents and tribal leaders can deliver prison sentences without any right of appeal under the FCR

So much has come to pass in the annals of history since the British left the subcontinent but FATA is still estranged from the rest of the country. The writ of parliament, the Supreme Court (SC) or any of the high courts does not work in FATA. FATA has representation in the National Assembly and Senate but has no participation in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly. There are 12 seats for FATA in parliament and eight seats in Senate. These representatives have no say in the legislation process, which is a shame. FATA is governed directly by the president.

FATA consists of seven tribal agencies: Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, North and South Waziristan, and six small frontier regions. These frontier regions are transition areas between FATA and the adjoining districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Its shares a porous border of 379 miles with Afghanistan divided by the Durand Line. Afghanistan does not recognise this Durand Line and lays claim on FATA’s areas. Both countries have failed to control movement across this border

FATA is one of Pakistan’s poorest regions. It is infested with high unemployment and an underdeveloped infrastructure. About 60 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line. The literacy rate is 17 percent with male literacy at 29 percent and female literacy at just three percent. Basic amenities are scarce. Drug trafficking, smuggling, illegal sale of weapons and kidnappings seem to be the people’s livelihood.

Due to the government’s failure to integrate FATA into the mainstream, this area has become a hot bed of terrorism. The area’s dynamics changed when, for the Afghan jihad, the US and Pakistan concentrated jihadi camps in the area. After 9/11, FATA came under the spotlight when the Taliban took hold of many of its areas. They weakened the structure of the tribal elders already in place by murdering them one by one and putting in place their own parallel government to the one in Islamabad. Consequently, the Pakistan army entered these previous no go areas in 2002 and started its operation. Since 9/11, it has been a story of constant peace negotiation deals between militants and the army, and then the commencement of army operations due to the militants’ violations of deals brokered. The present operation, Zarb-e-Azab, for the first time focuses on eradicating the safe havens of militants without any room for negotiation.

Amidst this scenario, the news of FATA reforms has been a breath of fresh air. In May of this year, the FATA Reform Commission presented its report. Its recommendations include the formation of another commission to review constitutional reform, establishment of agency and Frontier Reforms (FR) councils — headed by a political agent and a deputy commissioner respectively — establishment of governor councils headed by the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), interior federal secretaries, the chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the additional chief secretary who would be members of the governor council, and members of FATA tribunals to be increased from three to four.

All these are cosmetic measures as they touch the core issues superficially. Administrative issues and the issue of the controversial FCR are not given any thought in this report. Reforms on FATA require amendments to Article 247 of Pakistan’s Constitution, which excludes the region from the jurisdiction of the Pakistani parliament, SC of Pakistan and other high courts. FATA should be either given the status of a separate province along the lines of Gilgit Baltistan or it should be merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This integration into mainstream politics is the only hope for FATA to be peaceful and to make progress on the human development index.

The writer is a freelance columnist