June 5, 2012
Ayaz Wazir

There are a number of suggestions as to the future set-up in Fata, ranging from maintenance of the status quo to its merger with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. An overwhelming majority advocates giving provincial status to the territory. Here are the pros and cons of each option:

Status quo: In other words, continuation of the colonial system of governance through the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) imposed by the British in 1901. The civil and military bureaucracy and the privileged class (the maliks) favour continuation of this system of colonial administration whereby not only harsh measures or punishments can be imposed on the populace, without accountability to any quarter, but also provides the privileged with ample space for making easy money.

The FCR is draconian, inhumane and unconstitutional. It negates the very concept of democracy. Under this system the inhabitants are kept suppressed, their rights are usurped and their legitimate demands and aspirations are never met. Those administering the area are not accountable to anyone. Development does not figure anywhere in this system which is why Fata is extremely backward.

Extension of the law of Pakistan: This means extension of the laws of the land to Fata without further loss of time. The advocates of this system believe all people will have equal rights and equal opportunities for access to justice.

There is every possibility that the tribesmen, having lived for centuries under their own tribal customs and traditions, like Pashtunwali, will not be able to adjust to and accept an overnight change without an alternative system of governance, at least for an interim period. They are used to speedy justice based on truth and actual facts, and not to resolving disputes through the police or courts with protracted procedures or legalities as elsewhere in the country. It will have serious repercussions and may well lead to violent protests.

Merger with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa: Under this system, Fata is to be merged into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa by extension of the laws of the land. The difference between the two is that this way it will become a part of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, whereas in the option discussed earlier it would remain a separate unit as it is.

The strongest argument that its supporter offer is that Fata already depends for services and general administration on Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The two have a common governor and a secretariat dealing with Fata based in Peshawar. Officers and staff including political agents are sent from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to all the seven tribal agencies of Fata. Its proximity with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa makes it a perfect case of merger, they believe. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has recently passed a resolution demanding Fata’s merger into the province.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa does not accept responsibility for developing Fata, but on the other hand its chief secretary posts officers of civil bureaucracy from Peshawar to and from Fata. This means that without being held responsible he runs the administration of Fata, although indirectly. This duality has adversely affected the political and economic development of that area.

The governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa being an agent of the president administers Fata through his civil service appointees called political agents. Since the creation of the country invariably all its governors have belonged to the settled districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, barring a few from Punjab.

Our political parties have not played any commendable role in bringing about positive changes in Fata. Their leaderships allowed incorporation of Article 247 (b) in the Constitution which ousts the jurisdiction of both parliament and the Supreme Court from the affairs of Fata, thereby placing it at the mercy and whims of one individual, the president of Pakistan. Those leaders should have objected to the inclusion of this clause or their followers demanded its repeal in the subsequent constitutional amendments, but they did nothing other than keeping silent in order to maintain the status quo.

Fata, being less-developed, will be taken over by the moneyed class of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa if it is merged with that province. Its strategic location makes it a real estate attraction for the rich to invest and buy land and properties. They will turn the local tribesmen into refugees within their own territory through acquisition of their properties at throwaway prices.

Also, merger with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will entail extention of the legal system, the courts, system which the people there are not used to. The local people abhor the court system where cases take ages to resolve and in many instances the applicants spend life savings and decades in pursuit of justice.

It should be left to the tribesmen to decide whether to scrap their system, or make changes in it, rather than having outsiders decide it for them. Merger without proper homework and an alternative justice system will have worse repercussions than those in Swat and Malakand.

Fata as a separate province: A great number of people favour this proposal because this way the people will have a government of their own similar to the other provinces of the country. However, while they will wholeheartedly welcome getting the status of a province the tribesmen have reservations about the extension of the laws of the land. They are used to quick and real justice under their tribal culture.

Another important factor that deters the tribesmen from accepting the laws of the land is the daily perpetration of heinous crimes in the settled districts, where women are paraded naked in the villages, people lynched by mobs and custodians of the law resort to targeted killings in broad daylight, and the system does nothing to stop that. This makes the tribesmen despise the “thana” (police station) culture and prefer their own customs and traditions which are in no way a hindrance to good governance or a threat to the security of the nation.

In view of the fact that the people in Fata have been denied their rights to participate in the policymaking process and governance of the area for too long and outsiders are making decisions for them, the area has been deprived of development despite claims to the contrary. Nothing of the sort has been done so far and promises of development remained just promises and nothing else.

In order to bring Fata out of the darkness that it is in today its people have to come forward and take responsibilities for themselves for doing what others have failed to do in the 65 year history of this country. This establishes the claim of the tribesmen that without their participation in all matters pertaining to them Fata will never be developed, nor will real efforts be made to bring it at par with the rest of the country.

To achieve this objective matters need to be corrected forthwith. It is well known that the importance of the governor of their system is mainly because of Fata but no one from there has been made responsible for the administration of that area. This legitimate demand of the people of Fata should immediately be fulfilled and a tribesman appointed governor, who should constitute a council of elected members representing each tribal agency to administer Fata and oversee all matters concerning that area like a provincial cabinet does in a province. Alternatively, a separate post of governor should be created for Fata from among the people of the tribal areas with a council to assist him.

Once the people are empowered only then should the questions of merger with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa or keeping it as a separate federating unit (province) be decided by the people there.

The writer is a former ambassador. Email: waziruk@hotmail.com
-The News