Should those who joined Pakistan of their own free will, and the Quaid-i-Azam welcomed those 'brothers from across the border', be treated as political orphans and step-children of the state? This question, however, remains unanswered. Since 1947, the seven agencies comprising the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata), have been ruled as a colonial era colony by retaining their repressive administrative and judicial structures. It has representation in the national parliament - 12 MNAs and 8 Senators - but they cannot do any legislation for the people they represent. Off and on there are discussions and debates at various national platforms to introduce reforms necessary to bring the residents of Fata into the national mainstream, but things remain as they are. Now when military action in North Waziristan Agency has displaced a large number of persons the issue of reforms for tribal areas has come to the fore. As if upstaging all other political parties who of late had endorsed an 11-point reform agenda the PPP submitted a draft resolution to the National Assembly Secretariat seeking powers for the parliament to make laws for Fata. The resolution is expected to be taken up next week when the house opens its next session. Not that the other parties were not interested in going for such a resolution but they were intrigued by the PPP's going alone. Maybe by being the first to support the reform agenda the PPP leadership wanted to deflect public notice from the Sindh government's not-so-warm welcome of the IDPs. But now that the first step has been taken in that direction its follow-up should be earnestly executed, for given the flow of events in tribal areas the time has come that this huge injustice to the people of Fata is undone once and for all. Once the military operation is over there would be the need to restore civilian administration, and an appropriate opportunity to wind up the more than one hundred-year-old colonial era governance system.
Only by obtaining rule of law and extension of civil and political rights to the residents of Fata can the challenges of militancy, extremism and poor governance be effectively dealt with. The first step in that direction should be an amendment to Article 247 of Constitution which places the Fata agencies under the direct control of the President who 'may, from time to time, give such directions to the Governor of a province relating to the whole or any part of Tribal Area within the province as he may deem necessary'. The same Article also mandates that 'No act of Parliament shall apply to any Federally Administered Tribal Area ... unless the President so directs'. Ideally, the Fata should be declared as a province with its own elected assembly and independent administration, which may require a referendum to clinch the issue. Otherwise, it should be extended full provincial rights by merging it with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and it may have its own members in the provincial assembly which should be fully competent to legislate for Fata. At the same time the notorious Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) 1901 should be repealed in its entirety, replacing it with Pakistan's Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in line with Article 8 of the Constitution which holds void any law inconsistent with or in derogation of fundamental rights. The government should also dismantle the undemocratic system of patronage driven by political agents, empower the man in the street by introducing local government, and create and sustain environment for the people's economic betterment. The case of Fata brings to one's mind the remarks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who, in his The Valley of Fear, said: "It was a tall order, that; as the bridge was up there was no other way."
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Pakistan: Fata reforms
Should those who joined Pakistan of their own free will, and the Quaid-i-Azam welcomed those 'brothers from across the border', be treated as political orphans and step-children of the state? This question, however, remains unanswered. Since 1947, the seven agencies comprising the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata), have been ruled as a colonial era colony by retaining their repressive administrative and judicial structures. It has representation in the national parliament - 12 MNAs and 8 Senators - but they cannot do any legislation for the people they represent. Off and on there are discussions and debates at various national platforms to introduce reforms necessary to bring the residents of Fata into the national mainstream, but things remain as they are. Now when military action in North Waziristan Agency has displaced a large number of persons the issue of reforms for tribal areas has come to the fore. As if upstaging all other political parties who of late had endorsed an 11-point reform agenda the PPP submitted a draft resolution to the National Assembly Secretariat seeking powers for the parliament to make laws for Fata. The resolution is expected to be taken up next week when the house opens its next session. Not that the other parties were not interested in going for such a resolution but they were intrigued by the PPP's going alone. Maybe by being the first to support the reform agenda the PPP leadership wanted to deflect public notice from the Sindh government's not-so-warm welcome of the IDPs. But now that the first step has been taken in that direction its follow-up should be earnestly executed, for given the flow of events in tribal areas the time has come that this huge injustice to the people of Fata is undone once and for all. Once the military operation is over there would be the need to restore civilian administration, and an appropriate opportunity to wind up the more than one hundred-year-old colonial era governance system.
Only by obtaining rule of law and extension of civil and political rights to the residents of Fata can the challenges of militancy, extremism and poor governance be effectively dealt with. The first step in that direction should be an amendment to Article 247 of Constitution which places the Fata agencies under the direct control of the President who 'may, from time to time, give such directions to the Governor of a province relating to the whole or any part of Tribal Area within the province as he may deem necessary'. The same Article also mandates that 'No act of Parliament shall apply to any Federally Administered Tribal Area ... unless the President so directs'. Ideally, the Fata should be declared as a province with its own elected assembly and independent administration, which may require a referendum to clinch the issue. Otherwise, it should be extended full provincial rights by merging it with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and it may have its own members in the provincial assembly which should be fully competent to legislate for Fata. At the same time the notorious Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) 1901 should be repealed in its entirety, replacing it with Pakistan's Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in line with Article 8 of the Constitution which holds void any law inconsistent with or in derogation of fundamental rights. The government should also dismantle the undemocratic system of patronage driven by political agents, empower the man in the street by introducing local government, and create and sustain environment for the people's economic betterment. The case of Fata brings to one's mind the remarks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who, in his The Valley of Fear, said: "It was a tall order, that; as the bridge was up there was no other way."
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