–Interim rules will govern FATA until it merges with KP ‘within a timeframe of two years’

–President to have jurisdiction over FATA, PATA until he signs 31st Constitutional Amendment 2018

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Monday signed the ‘FATA Interim Governance Regulation, 2018’, ridding tribespeople of Pakistan’s northern borderlands of the century-old draconian Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR).

The ‘FATA Interim Governance Regulation, 2018’ is a set of interim rules that apply to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) until it merges with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa “within a timeframe of two years”.

However, the president will have the jurisdiction over FATA and the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) until he signs Constitution (Thirty-First) Amendment Bill, 2018, which proposes abolition of the Article 247 of the Constitution.

As per Article 247, the executive authority of the federation shall extend to FATA and PATA.

However, as soon as the president signs Constitution (Thirty-First) Amendment Bill, 2018, the control of FATA Interim Governance Regulation, 2018 would be handed over to the KP government.

31st CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT:

The bill was passed by KP Assembly on Sunday in its final phase. The bill was passed with two-thirds majority, after it was already approved from the Senate and National Assembly.

As many as 92 lawmakers in the KP Assembly voted in favour, while seven MPAs used their votes against the bill.

The landmark bill will bring the tribal borderlands comprising seven agencies and six frontier regions within ambit of the higher courts.

The National Assembly and Senate passed the bill last week.

In the Lower House, the bill was moved by Minister for Law and Justice Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk. Two hundred and twenty-nine parliamentarians voted in favour of the constitutional amendment, while one voted against it. The bill was opposed by government-allied parties JUI-F and Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP).

In Senate, 71 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill while five opposed the constitutional amendment.

The bill amended seven articles in the Constitution to allow implementation of the proposed reforms. It omitted paragraph C of sub-clause 2 of Article 1 under which FATA was placed as separate territory of the country like the four provinces. The omission allows the tribal areas to merge with territory of KP.

The bill also proposed amending clause 1 of Article 51 by reducing the number of seats in the National Assembly from 342 to 326. It added clause 3A after clause 3 to give legal cover to representatives who will be elected from FATA in the general polls 2018. They will continue as member of the National Assembly till expiry of their five-year-term and after the five years, this new clause will stand omitted.

It also removed the word “Federally Administered Tribal Areas”, from the clause 5, under which seats of the National Assembly are allocated on population basis, and from sub-clause 1 of Article 155 which deals with the complaints and interferences with water supplies.

The bill pursued changes in Article 59, which deals with Senate, by reducing the number of Senate members from 104 to 96. It omitted the sub-clause (b) of clause 1 that allocated eight members to the tribal areas. It also deleted the sub-clause (b) of clause 3 of the same article which states that four senators elected from FATA shall retire after three years while another four after next three years.

Furthermore, it sought the omission of the word “Federally Administered Tribal Areas” from its sub-clauses (b) and (f) of Article 272 which defines the constitution of Senate.

It proposed omitting Clause C of Article 246 which defines and names FATA and sought addition of Clause D which states that laws applicable in these areas will remain applicable until repealed or changed by competent authority.

Under Article 247, the competent authority will be the federal government until after the elections when the jurisdiction for altering and repealing the laws prevailing in these areas will be passed to the assembly.

THE BLACK LAW:

Since FATA would not fall under the jurisdictions of courts, tribespeople from across its agencies would be tried under the FCR, also known as the ‘Black Law’, given to the region by the British Raj in 1901.

The main purpose of FCR was to protect the interests of the British rulers and counter the opposition of Pashtuns to their rule, especially in KP what was then the North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan and their adjoining tribal areas.

After independence, KP and Balochistan gradually got rid of FCR, but it remained imposed in FATA.

FCR outright deprives tribespeople from approaching the formal courts as it states that appeal, wakeel (lawyer) and daleel (evidence) are not applicable for its residents.

The other worst aspect of FCR was its collective responsibility clause, which is imposed on anyone in the tribal areas for a crime committed by his or her relative or anyone in from the same tribe.

Moreover, officials of the political administration enjoyed unchecked powers under the FCR and the orders given by a political agent could not be challenged before the high courts.