Fata tribal area in the country’s northwest had already been cleared of militants by the army

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

For centuries the north-west corner of Pakistan known as the federally administered tribal areas (Fata) has been known as one of the world’s most lawless regions – a mountainous bolthole for terrorist groups.

This week, however, Pakistan’s parliament passed a a landmark piece of legislation to abolish the semi-autonomous zone of Fata and bring a court system, police and modern governance to its long-suffering 5 million residents.

Under the legislation passed on Thursday, the neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will gradually absorb a region once dubbed the “most dangerous place in the world” by former US president Barack Obama.

Hopes are high that the bill will pass the senate on Friday and – soon after – the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.



“It’s a great day for Pakistan,” said Shahabuddin Khan, a minister of the national assembly from Fata. “The people of Fata are getting their rights for the first time since the 19th century.”

Residents of the region still currently live under draconian Raj-era regulations, which British colonists introduced in an attempt to subdue the region’s restive Pashtun tribes.

Its provisions allow for an entire tribe to be punished for the crimes of one member, and those who cross a district political agent – the political heirs of khaki-jacketed Raj administrators – face abuse and indefinite detention as there is no higher power with which to launch an appeal. Residents are also forced to guard state property.

Earlier versions of the bill had included provisions for the regulations to remain broadly in place for a year while the state built courthouses and police stations to aid the transition. These were not included in the final version, meaning that when Pakistan’s president signs off on it the entire legal system in Fata will change at a stroke.

“This goes much further than we thought was politically possible,” said one western official. “But there’s a risk it might be too abrupt.”

The federal government aims to spend £640m a year until 2028 in order to develop Fata, but will have to negotiate budget cuts with other provinces in order to secure the funds, noted the official.

After the bill’s passage, members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) celebrated delivering a campaign promise just days before the end of their tenure as a caretaker government takes over in the runup to an election this summer. Imran Khan, the ex-cricket star and leader of the opposition PTI party, attended parliament for the first time in two years to vote as cross-party support drove the long-mooted merger across the line.

But much of the credit for the reform should go to the military, said columnist Mosharraf Zaidi.

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Pakistan’s army was repelled from Fata in 2004 after – under US pressure – it sent 80,000 troops into the region to hunt for al-Qaida. The pattern was repeated throughout the decade.

But under operation Zarb-e-Azb, which began in 2014, militants were finally crushed or pushed over the border into Afghanistan. “The military has done a phenomenal job in clearing, now the politicians must hold and build,” said Zaidi.

The planned extension of Pakistan’s constitution into Fata is also “very good news for women”, said Noreen Naseer, a professor of political economy from the region, as it will mean women can inherit and that “rampant ‘honour’ killings” will be classed as crimes.

“Now there is nowhere we can even go and report ‘honour’ killings, the political agents aren’t bothered, they say it is a personal matter for the tribe,” she said.

Activist and resident Niazamuddin Khan said he was “ecstatic” at the reform. “We were born into this struggle. Seeing the dream come true, there’s nothing better,” he said.

The bill’s passage may also help calm tensions in the Pashtun community, Khan added. Pakistan’s 15 million strong minority has been gripped in recent months by a protest movement against persecution and rights abuses it says are carried out by the state.