FATA MERGER

Introduction:-
 Strategic importance of the region; British and, then USA after 9/11 attacks
 Buffer zone created by British against Russian intrusion
 FCR (Frontier Crimes Regulations), 1901. Enacted after partition of Pakistan with
amendments.
 Govt’s of Pakistan was unable to give the region administrative and legal stability.
 Terrorism in the region
 Pakistan’s rival states are active in spreading and supporting terrorism here.
 Constitutional amendment to merge it with the KP province in 2018.

Comparison of Pre & Post-FATA Constitutional Status:-

1. Before the FATA merger into KP, the 1973 constitution had provided a unique status in a letter but a
legally inferior status. According to Article -1, FATA was placed as a separate vicinity of the country like
the four provinces.

2. According to 25th Amendment, the FATA merger into KP was finalized. After its merger, the merged
vicinities have no longer a unique status.

3. According to Article 246, the president of Pakistan is not only the constitutional head of the state but
also a chief executive of the tribal areas. After its merger into the KP clause, ‘’C’’ of Article246, which
deals with the tribal areas, is omitted.

4. Article 247 provided discretionary power to the president of Pakistan. Now, after its merger into KP,
the Article-247 of the constitution is omitted.

Pre-Merger: Administrative System of FATA:-

In Pakistan constitutional order 1947 amended the government of India Act 1935 in which the tribal
areas were regulated by Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) and were mentioned as excluded areas. Thus,
from 27 June 1950, the tribal vicinities became altogether independent and were left to the tribesmen.
In November 1947, the political agent of tribal Agencies secured or recorded agreements of tribal chiefs
(Maliks) in which they annunciated as follow:

• We promulgate that we are part of Pakistan.

• It was promised that if the state required any sort of help, we would provide our service to the nation
to the best of our ability.

• We will try our best to participate in peaceful and friendly interaction with the state, the people of
settled districts and will obey every law.

• Pakistan will provide benefits to the FATA residents if they comply with the above conditions.
• The tribal culture and tradition should remain the same as before

Pre-Merger: Legal System of FATA:-

Against Russian expansionism, the tribal vicinities were used as a buffer zone. British introduced a legal
system known as Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) in 1901. The political agent was appointed who always
collaborated with local tribal elders. There was no check over the decisions of Political agents and tribal
elders. This system was then retained after the creation of Pakistan. The rule of law, as enshrined in the
constitution of Pakistan, was not guaranteed to the people of FATA. The region has had no law-making
body that could make laws for the Tribal people. This situation produced a legal vacuum in the tribal
areas. Constitutionally the president of Pakistan had the authority to give laws for FATA, and the office
was also indirectly empowered to run the affairs of the region through the Governor of NWFP (now KP).
Legally the fundamental rights were not given to the FATA by the constitution of Pakistan. In the
national assembly, 12 members represent tribal vicinities while 8 members are selected through
election indirectly in the senate; these members have the right to withstand or oppose any issue or
demand in other regions of Pakistan, but not in their home region where their opinion will only matter if
the head of the state specifically calls upon them for any suggestion.

Levy Force

Levies are atypical forces locally recruited by the political agent and are armed by the government. The
tribal paramilitary force was known as Levies, relied on the British for maintaining peace and order.
There was no regular military or police system.

Khassadar Force

Since the creation of Pakistan, the function of khassadar has been as the representatives of their tribes,
not as individuals. Khassadar, a local force, is recruited from various tribes of a tribal Agency; they were
regular forces and were paid by the political agent but are not a much-disciplined force. ‘’Khassadar are
the servant of the tribes, not the servant of the government.’’ Their duty was to maintain peace, law and
order at various checkposts established by the government of Pakistan in the tribal areas.

Recommendations:-

1. The government of Pakistan should organize a good administrative system for the people of FATA to
create roads and proper infrastructures for the FATA region

2. To provide jobs, education, to establish proper schools, colleges and universities to increase the
literacy rate in FATA.

3. Allocation of funds for the people of FATA is the most important step for the development of this
area. The National Finance Commission (NFC) should be requested to make an allocation of three
percent on an annual basis for ten years for FATA.

4. The policymakers should adopt such a vibrant and viable policy for the reconstruction of
infrastructure, rehabilitation of internally displaced persons (IDPs)
Issues:-
The Interim Governance Ordinance, however, is seen as a case of old wine in
a new bottle and a modified version of FCR. The Ordinance whilst repealing
the FCR and declaring agencies districts, also authorises the governor to
confer powers of a District Magistrate on the Deputy Commissioner who
exercises same powers of referring civil disputes to a self-appointed Council
of Elders. In the same token, the assistant commissioner was authorised to
refer criminal cases to a Council of Elders. A few days ago, the Peshawar
High Court has declared such provisions of the Interim Governance
Regulation ultra vires of the Constitution.
The government claims to have planned to fill the vacuum by merging the
Khasadars and levy with the police in a gradual manner. In this context the
establishment of police stations, police lines, training and above all
enforcement of law are big challenges.
The Fata Secretariat has proposed to work on the basis of soft and hard
areas. According to this plan, the police will be extended to soft areas first.
The Army training centres will be used to train the police for its extended
needs. Till construction of the judicial complexes, courts can start work in the
compounds of political agents and assistant political agents and other
existing official buildings. The creation of posts of judiciary, prosecution and
prisons is another uphill task. They at least require 200 kanals for the
establishment of a judicial complex on the pattern of Charsadda in each
district. Around 900 Judicial staff, including judges, would be required with an
estimated cost of Rs503 million per annum.
Mainstreaming is a resource intensive project. Peace and development go
hand in hand. Mainstreaming therefore must think keenly about resource
generation in the area. In this regard the NFC should allocate 3% of the
available resources in the federal divisible pool (Rs90 billion) annually for the
implementation of a 10-year Development Plan in addition to the existing
annual PSDP allocation of Rs21 billion. Revenues collected as Custom duties
at the border may be spent on the development of Fata districts. The
royalties accruing out of natural resources, minerals and forests should also
be spent there. Just as a US judge once remarked that taxes are the price
paid for civilisation, income tax and other tax laws along with Land Revenue
Act may also be extended to the area so that the wealthy sections of the
community share the burden equitably.
Assimilating the deep-rooted code of Pakhtunwali with modern laws and
replacement of the principle of collective responsibility of a tribe with individual
responsibility are easier said than done. The clash between age-old customs and
the statutory laws and issue of quick dispensation of justice will be challenging
tasks.