On the eve of Pakistan’s 63rd independence day, President Asif Ali Zardari announced major reforms in the political, administrative and judicial make up of the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) - a combination of seven semi-autonomous tribal agencies bordering Afghanistan.
It should be noted that as per the constitution of Pakistan, FATA is under the direct control of the President of Pakistan who exercises his authority through a “Political Agent” for each of the seven agencies. For all intent and purpose, a political agent can be considered as a mini-viceroy who exercises vast powers over his agency and is not answerable to any judicial oversight. The writ of the Supreme court of Pakistan does not extend to FATA which is governed by the colonial era Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) that allows the political agent to imprison people without any trial for an indefinite period of time. Moreover the people of FATA are not allowed to enjoin the democratic process enjoyed by their fellow citizens as none of the Pakistani political parties are allowed to exist in FATA.
For more than a decade, FATA has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. It has become a hot bed of terrorism and militants from all across the globe have used this as a sanctuary for carrying out their wicked acts but this news announced on Pakistan’s independence day is definitely positive. According to this Dawn news stroy, the key aspects of the reforms announced by the President are:
1. Extension of the Political Parties Order of 2002 to the tribal areas
2. Changes to the FCR to curtail the powers of arbitrary arrest and detention without the right to bail
3. Exclusion of women and children below 16 years of age under the Collective Responsibility Clause of the FCR
4. Setting up the Fata Tribunal with powers similar to those of the high courts
5. Audit of the funds received and disbursed by political agents by the Auditor General of Pakistan
Like anything else, the success and effectiveness of these reforms will largely depend on their implementation nevertheless on the face of it, this is definitely a move in the right direction. The militancy and terrorism in FATA can not be eradicated through the military means alone. Any lasting peace in this area will require a comprehensive set of political, judicial and economic reforms to accompany the military action.
There is a general feeling that people of FATA have suffered enormously at the hand of Maliks (tribal leaders), political agents and terrorists both home grown and foreign born. They deserve better from the government of Pakistan and its instiututions. One can only hope that these reforms only constitute a starting point for a long journey towards integrating FATA into the Pakistani state.
Photo Credits: Title map is from wikipedia
Rather than just allow political parties to operate in the hope of peace and progress, any reform effort requires a understanding on what changed in FATA that changed it from a relatively peaceful area to the hub of Jihad and increasing violence in a few decades.
The joint American-Pakistani-Saudi inspired “Jihad” against the Soviet Union in the 1980s fundamentally altered the power structure and governance in FATA. During this period, two new groups emerged to subvert the the traditional model: Military commanders and Mullahs. The military commanders who led the fight against the Soviets became increasingly more powerful and influential because of their leadership abilities and competence as fighters and organizers. The mullahs, who were marginalized and ridiculed before the “Jihad”, rose in status and influence because of the religious inspiration they provided for “Jihad”. The power of the commanders and the mullahs was also bolstered by the large amount of funding from US, Saudi and Pakistani sources that they received and controlled in this period. The political agents and the maliks are no longer unchallenged as the de facto power brokers in FATA. The power is now more diffused. Can the power and authority of PAs and maliks be restored? If not, what needs to replace it and how?
Daily Times, August 14, 2009
ANP rejects amendments to FCR
* Zardari phones Asfandyar, discusses changes
By Muhammad Bilal and Iqbal Khattak
ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party (ANP) on Thursday rejected the amendments made by President Asif Ali Zardari to the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR.)
“We don’t accept the president and prime minister’s decision on the FCR. We were not taken into confidence at all,” ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan told a news conference.
A meeting jointly presided by President Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had approved a number of amendments to the near 100-year-old law on Wednesday.
Khan said his party would not accept any decision by the government taken without consulting it. Following the ANP claims, President Zardari telephoned the ANP president to take up the party’s grievances. “President Zardari phoned Asfandyar Wali to discuss the issue,” ANP Information Secretary Zahid Khan told Daily Times.
Ownership: He said the ANP did not own the changes in the FCR as his party was not taken onboard, asking how could the party accept anything it had not been consulted on.
Earlier, a committee chaired by former Peshawar High Court judge Muhammad Ajmal was constituted to suggest reforms in the FCR, with emphasis on restructuring the province’s administration, judiciary and financial control.
A member of the committee, former chief secretary Khalid Aziz, said “the government (has) gone largely by the committee’s recommendations, but (with) slight changes”.
The Tribal Areas figured prominently in the Charter of Democracy (CoD) signed in May 2006 in London between the ruling Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
Paragraph 8 of the CoD suggested that FATA “shall be included in the NWFP province in consultation with them”.