LONG ROAD TO INTEGRATION

For years, Rab Nawaz*, a 31-year-old citizen journalist and activist, advocated for change in Kurram, a tribal district blessed with fertile valleys and green mountains that has seen little development since independence.

When the merger was announced, Nawaz was ecstatic, calling his friends and family members to share his joy.

A month later, however, he was arrested along with five members of his family, according to FCR regulations - which allowed for the arrest of members of the same family or tribe for the crimes of one - the same laws they had just been told were abolished.

"They called me and asked me to stop writing against government departments and policies like the FCR," Nawaz recalls. "They threatened me [saying] they will punish me in a way that I won't forget."

Nawaz spoke to Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals for being critical of the government.

Although local law enforcers were aware that FCR had been abolished, Nawaz claims that their methods of forced confessions, maltreatment in jail and refusal of legal assistance were reminiscent of the old system.

* Name changed on request

VOICES FROM THE TRIBAL DISTRICTS

"I can foresee that these tribal areas will stand up for their rights at some point and it will create an outbreak, because they are in pain, they have problems, and they will retaliate at some stage."

- Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi, Anti-merger politician, Peshawar

New laws with nobody to enforce them

The merger abolished all previous governance systems in FATA, including FCR, resulting in an administrative and legal vacuum where old laws were not applicable and new laws could not be enforced due to an absence of law-enforcement bodies.

"If you want a regular criminal justice system to function, there are certain prerequisites," says Oves Anwar, a director at the Research Society of International Law (RSIL). "You need to have a police force that does on-the-ground investigations, then you need to have prosecutors who can present in court, and then you need judges."

The FATA reforms committee had recommended the merge be done over five years, to allow gradual mainstreaming through administrative, legal and security reforms.

"There were a lot of functions to deal with from relevant departments, such as what to do with the judicial set up, local government, integration with KP, financial set up, funding for socioeconomic development, manning the porous borders and so on," says Asad Iqbal, an official at the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), which deals with FATA.

"Our original plan was to complete the merger within five years, which would come at the completion of these functions. But … we merged before taking the actions."

Caught in legal limbo, the government passed an interim governance regulation that, at heart, reproduced the existing laws governing FATA, including clauses that gave the former political agents judicial powers and let tribal councils, or "jirgas", take control of civil and criminal matters.

"There was a vacuum," says Sartaj Aziz, who headed the FATA reforms committee. "We knew it was not constitutional, but since we had suddenly done the merger and abolished FCR, we kept a modified version [of it] to fill the vacuum. It was an improvisation."

That "improvisation" was struck down by the provincial high court in October 2018, which ruled that the merger made Pakistani law instantly applicable in FATA, meaning no alternate system could operate there. But there was no administrative system in the area to apply the country's laws.

FATA's residents were now governed by Pakistan's police and court structure but there were no police officers or judges to implement that.

"The intention [behind the merger] is very noble, but this entire effort, in our opinion, has been undone or has been undermined by a critical lack of legal capacity at the highest policy-making level," says Jamal Aziz, executive director at RSIL.

While the government has committed to expediting infrastructure development, authorities are unable to start work unless funding is disbursed, something Jamal Aziz says needs to happen "on a war effort".

The tribal districts were promised annual development funding of approximately 90 billion rupees ($563m) for 10 years. After the merger, however, the government struggled to find the funds in an already fragile economy.

In June, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government approved 162 billion rupees ($1bn) for the tribal districts in its budget this year, although it is unclear if the funds will be disbursed.

VOICES FROM THE TRIBAL DISTRICTS

"The biggest development is that the area's MNA [Member of National Assembly] is sitting in the middle of the region. Under FCR, it was out of the question that an elected official could sit among their people."

- Iqbal Khan Afridi, Elected legislator, Khyber

Mixed feelings about the merger

Ordinary residents of FATA have witnessed hardly any progress in their lives post-merger, they say.

"Many members of tribal political parties are becoming anti-merger after seeing what's happening," says Hameedullah Jan Afridi, a former federal minister and Pashtun activist.

Afridi is a vocal advocate for FATA becoming a separate province. Surrounded by supporters at his home in Peshawar, he categorically rejects claims that the reform committee consulted all sides before delivering its report.

Leaning forward, his voice rising in frustration, he calls the merger a "drama" by those who "don't know [the] ABCD of our culture".

"I can foresee that these tribal areas will stand up for their rights at some point and it will create an outbreak, because they are in pain, they have problems, and they will retaliate at some stage."

Afridi has started a network of anti-merger individuals and groups, petitioning to make the former FATA a separate province. He suffered a setback, however, when he was unsuccessful in his bid for a Khyber seat in the provincial assembly in July.

A large portion of the population of FATA has expressed their willingness to embrace the merger, seeing it as a sign of hope in their centuries-old struggle against the FCR, exploitative leaders and the lack of basic facilities.

"We are very happy with the decision. We are getting justice," says Amer Shah, a political activist and social worker. "The influence of the Political Agents has decreased significantly. Prior to this, only the malik and influential people were being heard."

Most residents like Shah are eager to become a regularly governed part of the country after living under the complicated and often corrupt FCR system. However, they question whether the government will follow through on details like political representation and relief from the absolute power of the PAs and maliks.

"People are afraid that there will be selected individuals who come into power," he says. "The people who had influence before are still pushing to maintain their power in the community. […] We demand justice under one law, just like other Pakistanis."

VOICES FROM THE TRIBAL DISTRICTS

"They say that FATA has merged with KPK, but the system remains the same. It is the same donkey with a different saddle."

- Shamil Khel, Tribal chief, Khyber

The tribal councils

As the state begins the implementation of the judicial system in FATA, some Pashtuns are worried that local courts will undermine the authority of the tribal councils, or jirgas.

Jirgas rule by consensus on criminal and civil disputes and are popular for reflecting the values of "Pashtunwali", an unwritten and non-homogenous "code of conduct" that many ethnic Pashtuns follow.

Residents of FATA who are familiar with Pakistan's ailing judiciary question if it can serve the interests of people who have known faster decision-making through jirgas.

"Our jirga system is one of the most unique justice systems in the world," says Malik Pervez, who has headed jirgas for 25 years as a tribal leader in his native Khyber. "If we get a case of 302 [murder], we resolve it within months. In the Pakistani legal system, they keep changing court hearing dates for years."

However, jirgas themselves can be contentious among the Pashtuns, especially those with less social power. This is especially true for women, who often find themselves at a disadvantage in the male-dominated legal system. Jirgas in the tribal districts have been known to pass sentences such as "honour killings" or the handing over of women as a form of property.

Kainat Kamal, a youth rights activist from FATA says women have a better chance of justice through the regular legal system.

"If someone does not even have the right to speak up in a group of men and voice their issues and demand something, then how is it possible that she will receive justice?

"There are property issues, divorce issues, personal issues of women that they are not able to share [in jirgas]. Justice only takes place when you listen to both parties."

Kamal believes those who oppose the merger or demand a separate province want to retain the power and influence they had under the previous system, under which they were "uncrowned kings".

There are other issues, too.

Elahi, the scholar, says police will need to be trained on the area's conservative norms - such as the inviolable privacy of the women's quarters in homes - or people will reject them.

These cultural sensitivities also mean women aren't heard from, as became apparent when Khan dismissed a request to talk to the women in his household about their views on the merger.

"Our women are queens of the household," he says, laughing. "What issues would they have?"