Pakistan: To remedy unrest in Fata

Talking to the senators from the tribal areas in a meeting, President Mamnoon Hussein assured of efforts to bring Fata into the mainstream. Every president and prime minister since the creation of this country has stated his intention to bring Fata at par with the rest of Pakistan; it is easier said than done, as even after over six decades; Fata is centuries behind the rest of Pakistan.

Such statements by presidents and prime minister regarding Fata are usual and traditional; it, however, is also traditional and tragic that the Fata MPs only promote their personal agendas during these meetings. These MPs are not even embarrassed and do not object when Gilgit-Baltistan, a much smaller entity and with not even half the population, gets double the funds compared to Fata.

Regardless of the apathy of the Fata MPs towards their people, the current president and prime minister cannot be so naïve and lacking in knowledge and commonsense that unless peace and progress comes to the tribal areas there never will be peace in the country; also, the progress and prosperity in the rest of Pakistan will be impeded by the lack of law and order in the tribal areas. It is not necessary that the selfishness of the Fata MPs should blind the president and prime minister to what is in the national interest. It is in the national interest to create conditions in Fata conducive to make the lifestyle of the tribal people compatible with the rest of the country. But that is not all; because the conditions in the tribal areas are wild and unstable, the government has been unable to tap the vast underground resources there, said to be more in abundance than in any area in the country; Khyber Agency alone is said to have more oil reserves than the rest of Pakistan. In fact, all the seven agencies comprising Fata are extremely rich in underground mineral resources; but, because there is no proper civil administration to make things orderly, especially law and order there, these resources can not be manipulated.

It is a shame that no prime minister and president has been bold enough to make revolutionary decisions regarding the tribal areas that can not only turn around the situation in Fata but the rest of the country as well.

Basically, Fata and Pakistan cannot hold together unless sincere and speedy steps are taken to bring the tribes at par with the rest of the nation and make their lifestyle compatible with the people living in other parts of the country. Incompatibility among people in itself is a recipe for separation and making the areas comprising of Fata and Pata into a single province is the only remedy to remove the incompatibility in attitudes and lifestyle between the settled and tribal areas. However, the talk of merging Fata and Pata with the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will only cause heartburns to the tribes in these areas. The people of Fata and Pata consider themselves, their coming from the same stock notwithstanding, as socially different and geographically separate from the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Because the tribes don\'t have a province of their own, the elections taking place in these areas are hardly credible. In the absence of regular law enforcement agencies, individuals with most guns at their disposal, not votes, win elections. In fact, the people of the tribal areas don\'t think their so-called elected representatives different from the \'yes men\' as tribal elders\' appointed by the political agents inside Fata. Nor do they expect anything from the Fata MPs other than the advancement of their personal interests in their meetings in Islamabad. Creating a province out of the areas comprising Fata and Pata will revolutionise the tribal areas. Right now the twenty-million tribesmen don\'t even have one university. The reason of such and many other omissions is that their fates have been left to the whims of the so-called MPs and bureaucrats appointed either by Islamabad or the Islamabad-appointed governor in Peshawar. The Frontier Post strongly urges both the president and the prime minister to initiate steps for the creation of a province comprising of Fata and Pata. A full fledged province with its own provincial assembly; it own high court and lower judiciary; its own local government system; its own regular police force will bring the affairs there in order. The seven agencies of Fata, and the area of Pata can be declared as districts of the proposed province. Things will become normal once there is a modern civil administration placed there. The terrorists, in such a case, will find that the space for them in Fata and Pata is fast shrivelling. Also, the country will be able to bring into use the enormous underground riches there. The proposed province will prosper and so will the nation. What is more the federal government will have increased ability to act against militants. The presence of regular law enforcement forces is the main reason that Taliban have to stealthily sneak in the provinces instead of roaming in big gangs as they do in Fata. It is hoped that the president and the prime minister will see the light in this regard.