Muhammad Anwar Nasar
It is more than reality that the region of FATA has been victim of international and recurrent crises for more than two centuries. The various policies of colonial masters in the form of Great Game, Close Border Policy and Forward Policy, kept the region of FATA, a feasible ground for the battle field.
During British colonial empire, the Raj needed hegemony in this region. So to have control and complete order, they introduced the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). FCR is an inhuman code of law that deprives individuals from the fundamental rights. Under FCR, the basic rights to appeal (the right to request a change to a conviction in any court), Wakeel (the right to legal representation) and Daleel (the right to present reasoned evidences) are not applicable to the inhabitants of FATA.
The draconian law should have been abolished earlier. Unfortunately, its cessation was not materialized due to various reasons. There prevailed a good opportunity for mainstreaming FATA after the abolishment of ONE UNIT. In similar way, Bhutto attempted to form committee under General (Red.) Naseer Ullah Babur to merge FATA into NWFP was faded away with the military coup in 1977. In addition to this some steps were also taken during Musharraf’s regime in 2005 and 2006 without giving relief to residents of FATA from FCR. The Zardari’s regime formed Cabinet Reforms Committee for the modification of FCR. This amendment exempted the women, children below 16 and citizens above 65 years from collective responsibility of FCR.
Now coming to the present scenario to discuss the Report of the Committee on FATA Reforms 2016. The committee was made by the recent government under the chairmanship of Sartaj Aziz along with five other members. The committee worked out and made a report of 80 pages over the FATA reforms. After the completion of report, the differences of the Pashtun leadership arouse on the integration of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. JUI-F and PkMAP, though strictly opponent to each other political views, are on the same page. Contrast to this, ANP is in the favor of the provision of merging FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In a nutshell the abolition of FCR must not be reversed in the prospect of controversy over the integration of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
It must be emphatically agreed that the already achieved must not be shattered for the quest of something better. In this prospect the major problem is the elimination of FCR rather than that of integration issue. Contrast to this, the Pashtun leadership cogitates and controverts on the merger issue. In this pertinence two Tribal Jirgas were convened in Islamabad by PkMAP and JUI-F. So, some questions are put in front of the Pashtun leadership generally and leaders of JUI-F and PkMAP specifically.
Firstly, during the formation of FATA Reforms Committee, neither Pashtun leadership nor JUI-F and PkMAP, the coalition partners of government, agitated for the inclusion of Tribal Chiefs and Jirga’s representation in the Reform Committee. Secondly, is it coincidence that Maulana Fazul Rehman and Mehmood khan Achakzai, being part of the government are on the same page over FATA reforms instead of their antagonistic political visions? Thirdly, quoting Badshahi khan, chief of the Mehsud tribe from FATA, challenged the whole Pashtun leadership in Jirga convened by JUI-F in Islamabad Convention Centre. Badshahi Khan asked the Pashtun leadership that if Abbas Razvi (MQM-Pakistan) could position and install the camp for IDPs in Bannu why could not the Pashtun leadership. His point shows that the Pashtun leaderships are propagating their concerned cause for only point scoring. And fourthly, if the FATA reforms were revoked in totality, in the prospect of their controversies over the merger issue, then who would be responsible for this setback i.e. the Pashtun leadership or government.
As for the question of understanding is concerned, one can also take the plausible clue from the FATA Research Centre Survey conducted over the FATA reforms. In this survey, 68% respondents demanded for full abolishment of FCR; 74% endorsed the integration of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and 26% favored for restructuring FATA as an independent province.
So, in a nutshell the abolition of FCR must not be reversed in the prospect of controversy over the integration of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Writer has completed M.phil in History from Quaid-i-azam University, Islamabad
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the author and Balochistan Voices not necessarily agrees with them.
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