Policing former Fata
WHILE the Mughals governed India through arrangements embedded in local conventions and traditions to address the needs of a multiracial and multicultural empire, it was the British who tried to…
Developing ex-Fata
IN his recent speech in Orakzai, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that, while he lamented their tenor, he not only agreed with the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) but had been…
Integrating Fata
The long-awaited Fata merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is delayed yet again. Although there is a near-total consensus among the people – from the tribal areas and their cousins in the…
The Fata factor
It has remained unclear for many months whether Pakistan’s ever-weakening democratic setup will stand the test of time for the Senate elections in March. Several ministers have been seen highlighting…
Fata merger: the clock is ticking
Keeping Fata isolated in the shackles of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) and preventing or delaying its mainstreaming is one of our strategic blunders. The current law and order situation…
Judicialisation in Fata
For decades, the people of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) were forcedly kept under the draconian colonial Frontier Crimes Regulation 1901. The FCR violated basic human rights and was…
Congratulations Fata
Finally, all the constitutional requirements to merge the (now formerly) Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata) with the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have been fulfilled successfully. Geographically, Fata is a…
How to mainstream Fata
The persistent struggle for equal rights and the matchless sacrifices by the people of former FATA, along with tireless efforts by activists, finally forced policymakers to work towards mainstreaming the…
Rethinking Fata
The Ilaqa-e-Ghair – the alien territory – is no longer ghair (alien). Through the 31st Amendment to the constitution, parliament ended Fata’s ‘special’ status last week. It is an occasion…
Will Fata be lost to history again?
In the 1800s, the area previously known as Fata was strategically nestled between Afghanistan and the British Empire. These were the days of the Great Game – a chess match…
