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Friday March 29, 2024

Challenges to Fata mainstreaming enlisted

By Bureau report
October 29, 2018

PESHAWAR: Pakhtun Think-Tank Chairman Syed Akhtar Ali Shah has enlisted the challenges to the mainstreaming of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Presenting his research paper at a national conference on “Challenges in mainstreaming Federally Administered Tribal Areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Akhtar Ali Shah, former secretary to the government Home and Tribal Affairs, said that there was a perception that Fata was” Yaghistan”, “Elaqa “Ghair, “ungoverned spaces” “most dangerous place on earth” and “epicentre of terrorism.”

The speaker said the current conflict brought the area into the world focus and topic of debate asking for mainstreaming through a series of reforms. The biggest challenges were to erase that perception.

He said mainstay of laws was the Constitution of Pakistan and Interim Governance Regulation 2018. The passage of the 25th and 31st amendments to the Constitution paved the way for the mainstreaming.

The doing away of Article 247, which restricted the application of parliamentary and provincial laws of the land to the tribal areas, is a great leap forward, he pointed out.

The speaker said the rule of law principle thus extends fully to the areas. However, the Interim Governance Regulation is seen as a case of old wine in a new bottle and a modified version of the Frontier Crimes Regulation. Syed Akhtar Ali Shah said the merged area was still a conflict zone where the Army and Frontier Corps are there in aid of Civil Power but actually calling the shots.

He said all laws have been extended in the book but the biggest challenge was how to convert de-facto to de-jure.

The other challenge was a clash between customs and the statutory laws and issue of the quick dispensation of justice, he added. He said to fill the vacuum, the government has planned to merge the Khassadars and Levy force with police in a gradual manner.

In this context, the establishment of police stations, police lines, training and above all enforcement of the law was the biggest challenge. However, the situation would remain normal till active role of army.

The real test would be, once the army left. According to the plan, training of levy would be brought on a par with police. Leftover of the Levy and Khassadars not meeting the standard will be absorbed elsewhere.

The speaker said the government claimed that the establishment and creation of posts of judiciary, prosecution and prisons was another uphill task.

They at least require 200 kanals for the establishment of the judicial complex on the pattern of Charssada in each district. Around 900 judicial staff including judges would be required. The per annum estimated the cost would be Rs 503 million.

Syed Akhtar Ali Shah suggested that National Finance Commission should allocate three per cent of the available resources in the federal divisible pool (Rs90 billion) annually for the implementation of the 10-year development plan in addition to the existing annual PSDP allocation of Rs21 billion.

Revenue collected as Customs duties at the border may be spent on the development of Fata. Similarly, the royalties accruing out of natural resources, minerals and forests be spent there, he suggested.