Changing Fata
In 1901, the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) was promulgated in Fata. The regulation was originally drafted in 1872 by the British rulers. In order to strengthen their colonial empire, the…
Fata: fantasy and reality
Most of us spent this Eid divorced from any notion about the plight of those displaced from their homes in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The usual focus, inspired by…
Injustice in Fata
Why Fata has remained the ‘Federally Administered Tribal Areas’ for so many decades is not difficult to understand if one looks in some detail at the many injustices inflicted upon…
The fate of Fata
History is a true witness of the matchless sacrifices and unshakeable loyalty of Fata’s people. They are the true patriots and beneficent friends of Pakistan. Even their unfortunate marginalisation has…
Botching Fata reforms
For republican purists – those of us that believe in a coherent state guided by a consistent rule of law – reforms in Fata are long overdue because the special…
Fata deserves better
The tribespeople of Fata are fully committed to reforms in the region and the abolition of the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR). But they also deserve the democratic right to be…
Fata: to a new beginning
What the Viceroy of British India, Lord Curzon could not do in Waziristan we have now done with considerable ease. We did not opt for a patchwork scheme to get…
Mapping the future of Fata
The conferences and seminars on Fata, that I have attended so far, have one thing in common: analysts from Fata are invariably outnumbered by analysts from outside Fata. The outnumbering…
Fata merger
The cabinet’s decision to merge Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Fata has been widely appreciated by all the stakeholders. The people of the tribal areas termed this step ‘a hallmark decision’ The…
