Fata reforms have been delayed after several political parties oppose the reforms bill, leading to the government suspending the bill in the National Assembly. The announcement that Fata will be merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was appreciated by a lot of people. The merger meant that the region will be entered into the mainstream politics of the country and the decades old FCR – introduced during the British Raj – would be repealed. It is unfortunate that all steps taken to bring reforms in Fata were in vain. What angers most is the fact that the delay in the passage of the reforms may be indefinite. This is because the ongoing sessions of the National Assembly are one of the last before the sessions on the annual budget.
It would be an absolute shame if the petty interests and squabbling of political leaders prolong the suffering of the people of Fata. It is time the government worked to eliminate the social and economic marginalisation of the people of Fata. Seventy years have already been a long wait for the dismantlement of the colonial status, relations and relics that have governed the people who have been part of the country geographically, but excluded in every other way from the national mainstream.
Hafsa Khawaja
Lahore
