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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Tribesmen want end to FATA system |
| 2004-04-30 |
| In the hullabaloo about tribal militancy and military operation in South Waziristan, one point has been completely ignored. The deal struck between the army and the militant tribesmen means there is no possibility in the near future of a reform in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas). Predictably, the deal has drawn flak from the diplomatic community in Islamabad. It has also raised eyebrows among the US diplomats and certainly back in Washington. But the real problem relates to the anachronism about retaining the decrepit system in FATA. From a distance the system may appear benign and accommodating. In reality, it is not. Even so, it has governed the lives of some 8 million predominantly poor and ignorant ethnic Pashtuns in Pakistanâs tribal region. It has retarded progress, intellectual as well as political, and has bred violence, radicalism and intransigence, often under the cover of Pashtoonwalli, a mix of tribal tradition and Islamic fraternity. The system was crafted by the British colonial rulers in the 1880s after they struck a deal with the tribes straddling the region that separates Pakistan from Afghanistan. It was a result of repeated inconclusive attempts to tame the dozens of wild Pashtun tribes. Essentially a quid pro quo, the British allowed these people to continue to live their lives as usual â gunrunning, drug trafficking and hosting fugitives from the law. In return, the colonial power extracted the right to control the major roads leading up to the Durand Line. The British also divided the frontier into seven semi-autonomous regions, with each area identified as an Agency. Each Agency was administratively looked after by a central government official, called a Political Agent (PA), aided by an army of low-ranking officials and a paramilitary force drawn from the tribes. Now, more than a century later, this system is still in place, and in the eyes of some has been quite successful. While under the control and jurisdiction of the central government, each Pashtun tribe has its own representative spokesman and each tribe is ensured of its own autonomy. But the truth is that very few locals see it that way. Riven with poverty, ignorance and devoid largely of even the basic infrastructure, the FATA region is run by seven PA s â who are armed with two tools of influence: a set of laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) and the authority and ability to align certain tribal elders by rewarding them with leadership status, known as Malik. The FCR allows the PA to imprison or impose penalties worth thousands of dollars on anybody he thinks has violated the law or endangered the peace of the region. Entire tribes can even be held responsible, and thus penalised, for crimes and offences carried out by one individual. Currently, some 35,000 Maliks represent the entire populace of the seven Agencies and are often viewed as the stooges of the PA and the government. The NWFP governor Iftikhar Hussein, during a recent meeting in Peshawar, in fact eulogised the Maliks as âour hands and feetâ. Some Maliks have even been accused of sheltering Al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives, many of whom came to seek refuge in different parts of FATA after the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in late 2001. âThe un-audited budget and the income from illegal trade through and from Afghanistan is immense, and most of the trade and authority is still in the hands of the political agent and the Maliks,â said Marezullah, a resident of Wana. âWho would like to forego these colossal amounts of money,â he quipped. Anwar likens the combination of the PA and the Malik to a mafia that controls trade, construction and development business, and the funds meant for development. âIf the system goes, they would also lose their huge incomes,â Anwar argued. âPerhaps the international war against terrorism offers a glimmer hope for change in the region,â Afrasiab Khattak hopes. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |