The way forward in FATA

What has FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) achieved, in terms of political and economic development, since its inception after the signing of the Durand Line Agreement in 1893 between British India and Afghanistan? The colonial masters had framed special laws, under the guise of the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) to protect their interests in this area in the Great Game of the 19th century. The aim was to keep the Russian influence at bay by having Afghanistan as a buffer state between Russia and India, the jewel in the crown, and also, to keep the tribes and these areas in total isolation from the rest of the country so that they could be used and abused as our imperial masters deemed fit.

The webbing of the FCR was so beautifully done that an individual’s crime was made the responsibility of the entire tribe; if a particular individual could not be apprehended then anyone from his tribe could be arrested and put behind the bars until the culprit surrendered. Equally reprehensible was the draconian law assigning unchallengeable power to the political agent to arrest any person for up to three years without giving any reason.

It is ironic that the government of Pakistan, after independence in 1947, decided to retain the FCR instead of granting the benefits of democracy to the tribesmen whose system (tribal customs and tradition) is closer to the principles of democracy than any other one in the country. If it could not totally replace the regulations, the government should have at least amended them at that time. FATA thus went into a phase of deep slumber oblivious to what was happening in the rest of the country.

Another important reason for the area remaining backwards after independence was the posting of officers as political agents who could neither speak Pashto nor had sufficient knowledge of the area. In contrast, their predecessors during the colonial era spoke the local language, understood the area and its people better, did not interfere in their day to day life and avoided anything contrary to their customs and traditions. Hence they were able to construct roads, railway lines, airports and other infrastructure required to pursue their interest despite tough resistance.

Yet another and more important reason which contributed to the backwardness of the area was the appointment of governors from areas outside FATA. Only one exception was made and that too because of the person’s military background. Some even could not speak Pashto. Unlike their predecessors in the British era who were faced with the challenge of having to safeguard national interests on the western border, our officers were more interested in survival on the post and were not pushed about the welfare of the people they were ruling. Most of them relied on the services of non-career, incompetent officers who could not look beyond the interest of their benefactors. They were simply enjoying the absolute powers under the FCR which made some of them, if not all, absolutely corrupt. Any move by the locals to change the system was crushed with brutal force. Even well established markets were razed to the ground to punish tribes.

The FCR, introduced 109 years back, is in force in FATA to this day. It has kept the area in total isolation from the rest of the country. Nothing can be brought in or taken out of FATA without the written permission (permit system) of the respective political agent. The price of his permission is obviously added to the price of goods brought in which makes them more expensive for the poorest of the poor who reside there.

FATA, as the readers would know, does not fall under the jurisdiction of parliament nor it comes under the ambit of the Supreme Court. The government of NWFP has nothing to do with it except for providing a palatial residence in Peshawar to a person (governor) looking after FATA who does not even have an office near the people he is ruling what to say of residing amongst them.

The status quo of keeping FATA backwards continued till the arrival of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on the stage. It was during his time that some developmental activities were started in the area. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas Development Corporation (FATA-DC) was established and some industrial units were installed in each tribal agency. He laid the foundation of economic development, but the administration, which was supposed to extend a helping hand, ensured its total collapse as, given time, that would have brought prosperity to the area and the people would have escaped its clutches.

Later on, whatever little commercial activity or agricultural development that was generated by the people under self-help system also got destroyed in the eight years’ war. The tribesmen are thus again back to square one. They are poorer today than they were 63 years ago.

The purpose of the above narration is to draw attention to the fact that FATA remained backwards not because of the refusal of the people to permit developmental projects in their area, but because of the wrong policies of the governors. They never bothered to take serious interest in bringing FATA at par with the rest of the country. They shy away from consulting the tribesmen, for obvious reasons, while framing policies for them. The tribesmen are at the receiving end; the policies for them are framed in Islamabad and implemented by the governor’s secretariat in Peshawar.

The writer is a former ambassador. E-mail address: waziruk@ hotmail.com