Hamid Khan Wazir
Criticizing the latest Report of the Committee of FATA Reforms 2016, Senator Farhatullah Babar urged that FATA needed to be decolonized, as since the birth of country, it has always been governed as a colony, instead a fully empowered administrative unit.
Farhatullah Babar expressed these views while speaking at a roundtable conference on ‘Integrating FATA: Issues and Challenges” organized by Shaheed Bhutto Foundation, here on Monday.
He said that in case of a merger of FATA with KP, the governor should be from FATA and required constitutional cover should be added, because the recently produced FATA report had several legal anomalies.
The parliamentarians and experts at the conference conditionally endorsed the idea of proposed merger of the tribal belt into KP aimed at bringing the most neglected areas into the mainstream so as to remove the prevailing sense of deprivation.
In his presiding note, Farhatullah said that the latest Report of the Committee of FATA Reforms 2016 has been told that FCR was being replaced with Rawaj Act. He inquired about the details of Rawaj Act, as it would be the top law to govern FATA, once the reform package was legislated and enacted.
He said that FATA report carried several legal anomalies, as it proposed a timeframe of 90 days, with a provision of chief executive of Grade-22 officer, including an option for holding a referendum. He mocked the timeline of 90 days, and the title of chief executive, with an option of referendum, as according to him, this nexus of trio – had very unconstitutional baggage in the recent history of Pakistan.
Senior Analyst Ayaz Wazir lamented that FATA was always treated as a step-children from the Center. He also proposed an option of referendum, for being truly representative of FATA either with an option of integrating with KP or making it a separate province.
Ajmal Mohamamd Mian, who headed the FCR Committee, counted four options given in the Reform Committee’s 2016 Report, with maintaining status-quo, forming a GB-like council, merging with KP or making an independent province.
Out of all options, he also sided with an option of merging with KP conditionally and suggested that an urgent and fair course of law including action was needed, otherwise, it would add another report to the files at FATA secretariat.
Senator Rubina Khalid seconded the option of local government elections in FATA, as it would add more credence to the voice of FATA.
Faisal Kareem Kundi criticized the transition period of 5-years, as proposed in the FATA Reforms Report and demanded that, as and when proposed integration happens with the KP, it should be made smooth and realistic.
Largely, the speakers demanded abolition of Frontier Crimes Regulation, amendment to Article 247-A of the Constitution and merger of FATA with KP to ensure provision of all basic rights to the people in FATA. The proposed recommendations, including the gradual merger of the federally administered tribal area into KP, by FATA Reforms Committee – were largely endorsed by the participants of the policy dialogue, however it was stressed that they should be implemented with the consensus and due participation of the people of FATA.