Pakistan - FATA reforms: A wrong start

The Fata Reforms Commission, set up about a year ago, presented its report to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi on Thursday. Prepared by a five-member team of former government officials, director of an NGO, and headed by a retired bureaucrat, the report offers no new ideas to bring the tribal areas into the national mainstream. Instead, the emphasis is on preserving the antiquated colonial era power structure with small changes here and there. For instance, there is the recommendation that the number of the members of Fata Tribunal be increased from three to four, and it be presided over by a high court judge. Furthermore, members of the tribunal should be elected by a scrutiny committee and bound to dispose of criminal cases within 60 days and civil cases within 90 days. Then there is the suggestion of forming a governor's council for Fata comprising seven agencies and six frontier regions with vice chairman of every 'agency council' and 'FR council' as its members. Also to be included in the council are five parliamentarians and five experts, including women and minorities representatives. The council is to function as a consultative body for two years till the introduction of local government system, under which 90 percent of its members will be elected while ten percent 'selected'. 

The recommendations, in fact, the formation of the commission itself, is reflective of this government's lack of seriousness in bringing about transformative changes in the tribal areas. It is sad that in this day and age, an elected government's appointed commission is still talking of administering a part of the country through discriminatory, oppressive laws and an unrepresentative political system. There should be no two opinions on that the people of Fata deserve the same rights as those of any other part of the country. And for that to happen drastic changes are in order beginning with Article 247 of the Constitution that says no act of Parliament shall apply in the tribal areas without the approval of the President, and that the country's superior courts' jurisdiction will not apply to Fata residents. Remodelling is needed in at least three areas. First, the Frontier Crimes Regulations must be scrapped completely and replaced by the normal laws of the land and the justice system. Second, even though three years ago the Political Parties Order was extended to the tribal areas, the right to vote remains limited. Fata people must have universal suffrage. Third, a way needs to be found to determine local sentiments as to whether the tribal areas should have provincial status or become part of the adjoining KPK. The appropriate forum for initiating discussion and action on all these issues is the Parliament. That is where the government should seek advice and support on proceeding with a meaningful reforms plan for Fata. 

Something deserving immediate attention is the fact that the tribal areas are the least developed part of the country. Extreme poverty is rampant, which has helped violent extremists to find young recruits by paying them good salaries. Well thought-out socio-economic uplift programmes are needed. Indeed, the Fata Development Authority has started some fast track economic development schemes. It would help if implementation work is overseen on a continual basis by public representatives accountable to the local people.