Accelerating the merger

The merger of what was formerly known as Fata with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has been far from smooth. The Fata Interim Governance Regulation did not give the area full rights as it granted judicial powers to deputy commissioners. That regulation was eventually struck down as unconstitutional by the courts but since then the government has been lax in extending full rights to the region. The chief question was one of finance. It stood to reason that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s share of the National Finance Commission award should be increased to account for the newly-incorporated territory but other provinces – primarily Sindh – were hesitant to do so. That problem has now seemingly been solved as the centre, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have agreed to provide three percent of their share for the erstwhile Fata. But even this is not enough, especially since there have been reports that the federal government plans to cut the development budget for the area by as much as 20 percent. The region has never had full constitutional rights and it has been devastated by years of war. The only way for its development to be accelerated to bring it to par with the rest of the country is to provide additional funds and give its residents preference in government jobs.

There has been progress on other fronts to help ease the merger. The Election Commission of Pakistan has proposed adding 16 seats to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to ensure equal representation for the eight districts of what used to be Fata. But there have also been too many needless delays. The Peshawar High Court had requested an increase in its bench from 20 to 25, something which should have been done by now.

Of the many ways in which the people of the area were treated unequally, none was more egregious than the denial of constitutional rights. The Frontier Crimes Regulation did not allow its people access to the regular courts system and prescribed collective punishment. But abolishing it is simply not enough. The regular courts will soon have to hear a slew of cases arising from the merger. There will be property disputes as land was usually in the name of tribes rather than individuals. For all the action it has taken to turn the merger into reality, the government still has much more to do before this region is truly an equal part of the country.