engages in invoking the collective tribal and territorial responsibility to punish the whole tribe or community for the crimes of an individual.
The part of establishment and bureaucracy that benefits from the governance regime in the Tribal Areas has also perpetuated a lot of negative myths and propaganda about these regions and its inhabitants. For instance, an impression has been created that the tribal area is inaccessible and its people are difficult to govern. Nothing can be further from truth. This region is home to historic passes that connected the Subcontinent and Central Asia for thousands of years. Poverty and other circumstances in the tribal areas have forced its people to become on of the most mobile communities in Pakistan.
Today thousands of tribal families are living in the urban centres of NWFP and other major cities, which testify to the fact that they want a peaceful emancipated existence like other citizens of the land. The current security situation in FATA is the result of complex regional and international geo-politics. In fact, tribesmen are the worst victims of the prevailing situation in their homeland. The Pashtun society in the tribal areas is inherently egalitarian and thus best suited for practicing modern representative democracy. One of the first political reforms in the Tribal Areas will be to extend the Political Parties Act to FATA. This is perhaps the only region in the world where people have adult franchise but political parties are banned.
As the bureaucracy in Peshawar and Islamabad is one of the biggest hurdles in bringing meaningful reforms to the Tribal Areas, this should be thoroughly streamlined and reoriented to be the true servants of the tribesmen. Some past and present bureaucrats are too attached to the colonial notions of keeping FATA in the dark ages. They need to learn lessons from the mess they have created and have a mercy on the impoverished tribesmen.
The basic concern of the new system should be the welfare of the border tribes rather than serving some misguided notions of grandeur strategic designs. Tribesmen deserve all the rights and privileges guaranteed by the constitution. However, it is highly unlikely that any political reforms will succeed without a compatible economic package. In reality, FATA needs something on the scale of Marshall Plan to be implemented on urgent basis. If our government can get it right, reforms and development in FATA will not only transform Pakistan but the entire South and Central Asian region.
The writer is a former ambassador. Email: wazirukhotmail.com.