Long overdue reforms
A coalition of Fata political parties has threatened to observe August 14 as black day if the government fails to repeal FCR and merge the tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The statement indicates that reforms to mainstream Fata are overdue.
Nawaz Sharif constituted a committee to formulate proposals for FATA reforms in November last year. The committee headed by Sartaj Aziz prepared a number of proposals. A report was supposed to be presented to the prime minister last month but this could not be done on account of his hospitalisation. How long it takes Nawaz Sharif to take action on the report remains to be seen.
There is still no official word about the details of the report though there have been leaks about the outlines of a proposed “Nizam-e Adl” for FATA. The draft of the new law, as reported by media last month, would formally rescind the FCR, but fuse elements of the old tribal system with the legal system prevalent in the rest of the country. What is more it would extend the jurisdiction of the High Court to the tribal belt. It is still not known whether the report supports Fata’s merger into KP or giving it the status of a separate province. The government has meanwhile been criticised by the Senate for not taking the parliament into confidence on a vital issue. The Senate chairman has vowed to resist any attempt to ramrod the Parliament. The way some of the decisions are being taken indicates a secret compact between the federal government and the security establishment
Last week KP Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra dispelled speculation about implementation of Nizam-i-Adl in Fata, saying that a final decision about the future status of the region will be taken by the prime minister. There is a need on the part of the government to send its proposals regarding the reforms to the proper parliamentary committees for discussion. Whatever changes are required should be through a law thoroughly discussed and properly passed.
