Lawmakers from FATA have submitted a bill in the National Assembly seeking a merger of the federally administered tribal areas with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, igniting a new controversy among politicians and tribal elders. While many agree the Article 247 of the Constitution should be amended to grant full citizenship rights to the tribesmen, they are divided on becoming part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
On September 9, National Assembly members Shah Jee Gul Afridi and Sajid Hussain Turi submitted the 22nd Amendment Bill in the parliament, seeking changes in Articles 1, 246 and 247 of the Constitution. In Article 1, the proposed law seeks to remove FATA from the list of territories of Pakistan. It proposes adding the tribal areas adjoining Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, and Dera Ismail Khan districts, as well as the Bajaur, Orakzai, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan agencies, to the clause (b) of Article 246, to make all of them part of provincially administered tribal areas. The bill also proposes changing Article 247 to take the executive authority from the federation and give it to the province, and that the “Supreme Court and High Court shall exercise jurisdiction under the Constitution in relation to a tribal area as may be provided by the law”.
According to Shah Jee Gul Afridi, who is the parliamentary leader of lawmakers from FATA, all the 19 legislators from the tribal areas have joined hands for the first time in Pakistan’s history to demand full citizenship rights for the 10 million tribesmen, and have the support of major political parties.
“Soon, the people of the tribal areas will get rid of the century-old Frontier Crimes Regulations of 1901, which deprive them of basic human rights,” he said, adding that he is optimistic that the bill would pass with a two-thirds majority from the parliament. “The chances of getting the required mandate are 100 percent.”
Experts say if the FCR is abolished, the people of FATA will have to choose between three options: merging FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, making FATA a separate province, or running FATA through its own Governor and central and local councils. “We have discussed all these option. Merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa seems to be the best choice,” said Afridi.
The Awami National Party (ANP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and Pakistan Muslim League—Nawaz (PML-N) have welcomed the proposed move, but Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s faction of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and the FATA Grand Alliance (FGA) – an alliance representing elders from all over the tribal areas – have opposed such a merger. The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership in FATA is divided over the issue. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is skeptical the move will materialize.
Abdul Latif Afridi, a veteran lawyer and a central leader of ANP who has drafted the 22nd Amendment Bill, believes a merger with Khyber Pakhtunhwa “is the most viable option, as people of FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa already enjoy traditional, sociopolitical and economic relations”. Constructing new assembly buildings, secretariats and government offices will cost billion of rupees, he says, “when parliamentarians from FATA can easily be accommodated in the provincial assembly”.
Shahabuddin Khan, a PML-N MNA from Bajaur who strongly advocates the proposed merger, says making FATA a separate province is not a good idea, because it is “a long and narrow strip of land” with no directs links amongst tribal agencies. “The lawmakers will take into confidence all the intellectuals, elders, scholars and notables of the tribal areas before going ahead,” he said during a talk show on Khyber News.
“The tribesmen are fed up with the existence system and they want change,” according to the MNA Sajid Hussain Turi, who comes from the Kurram Agency. “The tribal youth is aware of their fundamental rights, and if their rights are ignored, I fear they will adopt unjust ways to get their just demands.”
Zar Noor Afridi, deputy chief of JI in FATA, says that his party fully supports the initiative, which will “bring economic prosperity and political stability” to the area. He says the JI has always called for the abolishment of FCR and the party wants to launch an awareness campaign in the tribal areas to educate the local people about the advantages of the proposed 22nd Amendment, and to ask for their support.
“The integration of FATA in Khyber Pakhtunhwa will help the tribal people play a role in mainstream federal politics,” says Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, the chairman of QWP.
Akhunzada Chattan, who is the chief of the All FATA Political Parties Alliance, and the PPP co-chairman’s advisor for tribal areas, says he appreciates the fact that lawmakers from the tribal areas are exhibiting such unity, but insists the PML-N government is not sincere in changing the status of FATA. “They are only interested in Punjab and do not care about deprived regions or tribes.”
The JUI-F supports the bill, but only to bring an end to the FCR, says Maulana Jamaluddin, the party’s MNA from South Waziristan. “Abolish Article 247 first, and then let the tribesmen decide their own fate,” he says.
Maulana Salih Shah, a senator from the same party, even rejects the impression that all 19 legislators from FATA are on board. “There are only four lawmakers behind the bill, not all the parliamentarians from FATA,” he says.
PTI’s Ayesha Gulalai opposes the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and advocates a FATA legislative assembly consisting of elected representatives from all over the tribal areas. “The tribesmen want to see themselves in a position to make their own decisions, utilizing their strategic location for transit trade between Afghanistan, Central Asia and Pakistan, their vast mineral resources and their picturesque locations for alleviation of their long-standing poverty and sufferings,” she said in a statement.
But Haji Iqbal Afridi, another PTI leader in FATA, said in a press conference in Peshawar that he would not oppose FATA’s merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “We want the abolishment of FCR,” he said. “We will accept a merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or become a separate province, but we cannot accept any further delay in these reforms.”
On September 13, former federal minister Hamidullah Jan Afridi, who is also the founder of the FGA, called a grand tribal jirga in Peshawar. With representatives from all over FATA, the council rejected the idea of making the tribal areas a part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “While drafting the bill, the lawmakers did not consult tribal elders, who are the real stakeholders,” the former minister said. “There are 1,750,000 registered voters in FATA, but only 158,000 voted in the last elections – only 8 percent.”
According to Afridi, a referendum in FATA is the only solution. “But it is not the right time for that,” he says. “A majority of tribesmen are displaced. They should be rehabilitated before the constitutional reforms.”
Former diplomat Ayaz Wazir believes it is essential to involve the tribesmen when deciding their future. “Every agency has two or three major tribes and some small tribes. Not all tribes have representatives in the National Assembly. But they should all be made part of the decision making process.” He too supports a referendum, but says “this government and its political agents are not capable of conducting” one.
He proposes an interim government in FATA with a governor who has a tribal family background and understands the tribal culture and systems. Then, a central council should run the affairs of the tribal areas and similar councils at the agency and tehsil level should run the local affairs. When the people of FATA “breathe a sigh of relief”, they should be allowed to decide their fate in a referendum.
Tahir Ali is an Islamabad-based journalist
Twitter: @tahirafghan
On September 9, National Assembly members Shah Jee Gul Afridi and Sajid Hussain Turi submitted the 22nd Amendment Bill in the parliament, seeking changes in Articles 1, 246 and 247 of the Constitution. In Article 1, the proposed law seeks to remove FATA from the list of territories of Pakistan. It proposes adding the tribal areas adjoining Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, and Dera Ismail Khan districts, as well as the Bajaur, Orakzai, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan agencies, to the clause (b) of Article 246, to make all of them part of provincially administered tribal areas. The bill also proposes changing Article 247 to take the executive authority from the federation and give it to the province, and that the “Supreme Court and High Court shall exercise jurisdiction under the Constitution in relation to a tribal area as may be provided by the law”.
"Abolish Article 247 first, and then let the tribesmen decide their own fate"
According to Shah Jee Gul Afridi, who is the parliamentary leader of lawmakers from FATA, all the 19 legislators from the tribal areas have joined hands for the first time in Pakistan’s history to demand full citizenship rights for the 10 million tribesmen, and have the support of major political parties.
“Soon, the people of the tribal areas will get rid of the century-old Frontier Crimes Regulations of 1901, which deprive them of basic human rights,” he said, adding that he is optimistic that the bill would pass with a two-thirds majority from the parliament. “The chances of getting the required mandate are 100 percent.”
Experts say if the FCR is abolished, the people of FATA will have to choose between three options: merging FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, making FATA a separate province, or running FATA through its own Governor and central and local councils. “We have discussed all these option. Merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa seems to be the best choice,” said Afridi.
The Awami National Party (ANP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and Pakistan Muslim League—Nawaz (PML-N) have welcomed the proposed move, but Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s faction of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and the FATA Grand Alliance (FGA) – an alliance representing elders from all over the tribal areas – have opposed such a merger. The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership in FATA is divided over the issue. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is skeptical the move will materialize.
Abdul Latif Afridi, a veteran lawyer and a central leader of ANP who has drafted the 22nd Amendment Bill, believes a merger with Khyber Pakhtunhwa “is the most viable option, as people of FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa already enjoy traditional, sociopolitical and economic relations”. Constructing new assembly buildings, secretariats and government offices will cost billion of rupees, he says, “when parliamentarians from FATA can easily be accommodated in the provincial assembly”.
"Of the 1,750,000 registered voters in FATA, only 158,000 voted in the last elections"
Shahabuddin Khan, a PML-N MNA from Bajaur who strongly advocates the proposed merger, says making FATA a separate province is not a good idea, because it is “a long and narrow strip of land” with no directs links amongst tribal agencies. “The lawmakers will take into confidence all the intellectuals, elders, scholars and notables of the tribal areas before going ahead,” he said during a talk show on Khyber News.
“The tribesmen are fed up with the existence system and they want change,” according to the MNA Sajid Hussain Turi, who comes from the Kurram Agency. “The tribal youth is aware of their fundamental rights, and if their rights are ignored, I fear they will adopt unjust ways to get their just demands.”
Zar Noor Afridi, deputy chief of JI in FATA, says that his party fully supports the initiative, which will “bring economic prosperity and political stability” to the area. He says the JI has always called for the abolishment of FCR and the party wants to launch an awareness campaign in the tribal areas to educate the local people about the advantages of the proposed 22nd Amendment, and to ask for their support.
“The integration of FATA in Khyber Pakhtunhwa will help the tribal people play a role in mainstream federal politics,” says Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, the chairman of QWP.
Akhunzada Chattan, who is the chief of the All FATA Political Parties Alliance, and the PPP co-chairman’s advisor for tribal areas, says he appreciates the fact that lawmakers from the tribal areas are exhibiting such unity, but insists the PML-N government is not sincere in changing the status of FATA. “They are only interested in Punjab and do not care about deprived regions or tribes.”
The JUI-F supports the bill, but only to bring an end to the FCR, says Maulana Jamaluddin, the party’s MNA from South Waziristan. “Abolish Article 247 first, and then let the tribesmen decide their own fate,” he says.
Maulana Salih Shah, a senator from the same party, even rejects the impression that all 19 legislators from FATA are on board. “There are only four lawmakers behind the bill, not all the parliamentarians from FATA,” he says.
PTI’s Ayesha Gulalai opposes the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and advocates a FATA legislative assembly consisting of elected representatives from all over the tribal areas. “The tribesmen want to see themselves in a position to make their own decisions, utilizing their strategic location for transit trade between Afghanistan, Central Asia and Pakistan, their vast mineral resources and their picturesque locations for alleviation of their long-standing poverty and sufferings,” she said in a statement.
But Haji Iqbal Afridi, another PTI leader in FATA, said in a press conference in Peshawar that he would not oppose FATA’s merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “We want the abolishment of FCR,” he said. “We will accept a merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or become a separate province, but we cannot accept any further delay in these reforms.”
On September 13, former federal minister Hamidullah Jan Afridi, who is also the founder of the FGA, called a grand tribal jirga in Peshawar. With representatives from all over FATA, the council rejected the idea of making the tribal areas a part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “While drafting the bill, the lawmakers did not consult tribal elders, who are the real stakeholders,” the former minister said. “There are 1,750,000 registered voters in FATA, but only 158,000 voted in the last elections – only 8 percent.”
According to Afridi, a referendum in FATA is the only solution. “But it is not the right time for that,” he says. “A majority of tribesmen are displaced. They should be rehabilitated before the constitutional reforms.”
Former diplomat Ayaz Wazir believes it is essential to involve the tribesmen when deciding their future. “Every agency has two or three major tribes and some small tribes. Not all tribes have representatives in the National Assembly. But they should all be made part of the decision making process.” He too supports a referendum, but says “this government and its political agents are not capable of conducting” one.
He proposes an interim government in FATA with a governor who has a tribal family background and understands the tribal culture and systems. Then, a central council should run the affairs of the tribal areas and similar councils at the agency and tehsil level should run the local affairs. When the people of FATA “breathe a sigh of relief”, they should be allowed to decide their fate in a referendum.
Tahir Ali is an Islamabad-based journalist
Twitter: @tahirafghan