DEVELOPMENT ADVOCATE PAKISTAN Volume 2, Issue 3 October 2015 TheThe Debate Debate onon FATAFATA MainstreamingMainstreaming DEVELOPMENT ADVOCATE PAKISTAN October 2015 CONTENTS Analysis Interviews 02 FATA in perspective Ajmal Khan Wazir 36 Convener and spokesperson, Political Parties Joint Analysis of Key Recommendations for Committee on FATA Reforms 17 FATA Reform Ayaz Wazir Asad Afridi 37 Senior member, Joint Political Parties Committee on Opinion FATA reforms Mainstreaming FATA for its people Ayaz Wazir 18 Dr. Afrasiab Khattak 38 Former Ambassador of Pakistan © UNDP Pakistan Recommendations of the FATA Reforms Brig. (Retd.) Mahmood Shah 20 Commission (FRC) 39 Former Secretary Security FATA, Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi Development Advocate Pakistan provides a platform for the exchange of ideas on key development issues DEVELOPMENT ADVOCATE Farid Khan Wazir and challenges in Pakistan. Focusing on a specic The state of Human Rights in FATA: development theme in each edition, this quarterly Ex-Federal Secretary Ministry of Human the socio-economic perspective 39 publication fosters public discourse and presents 22 Rights Peshawar, Ex-Chief Secretary Northern Areas varying perspectives from civil society, academia, Muhammad Uthmani government and development partners. The PAKISTAN publication makes an explicit effort to include the Reforms in FATA: A Pragmatic Bushra Gohar voices of women and youth in the ongoing discourse. 40 A combination of analysis and public opinion articles Disclaimer 24 Proposition or a Slippery Slope? Senior Vice-President of the Awami National Party promote and inform debate on development ideas The views expressed here by external contributors or the members of Imtiaz Gul whilepresentingup-to-dateinformation. the editorial board do not necessarily re0ect the official views of the Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi organizations they work for and that of UNDP’s. The 22nd Constitutional 41 Chairman FATA Reforms Commission Editorial Board 27 Amendment and Mainstreaming FATA Former Chief Secretary-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Editor Muhammad Anwar Maheen Hassan Mr. Marc-André Franche UNDP Country Director Shah Jee Gul Afridi Design and Layout The promise that is FATA Parliamentary Head of lawmakers from FATA in the Syed Asfar Hussain Shah 29 Shakeel Qadir Khan 42 Mr. Aadil Mansoor National Assembly Assistant Country Director/Chief Crisis Prevention and Recovery Unit The State of Human Rights in FATA: Printed by: Agha Jee printers, Islamabad A constitutional and judicial case study Farhatullah Babar Mr. Amir Goraya 31 43 Assistant Country Director Sangeen Khan Senator and Former Head of FATA Reforms Commission Democratic Governance Unit Mr. Shakeel Ahmad Rustam Shah Mohmand Assistant Country Director/Chief YouthVoices 44 Former Chief Secretary NWFP Development Policy Unit United Nations Development Programme Pakistan Former Interior Secretary of Pakistan 4th Floor, Serena Business Complex, Mr. James Littleton Khayaban-e-Suharwardy, Sector G-5/1, Gulalai Ismail | Muhammad Dawood Chief Technical Advisor P. O. Box 1051, 46 Strengthening Electoral and Legislative Processes Islamabad, Pakistan Ms. Fatimah Inayet 47 Muhammad Farooq | Shah Jehan Bangash /undppakistan /DevelopmentAdvocatePakistan Communications Analyst For contributions and feedback, please write to us at: www.twitter.com/undp_pakistan [email protected] 48 Saba Ismail | Tajdar Alam Saleem Mandviwalla www www.pk.undp.orgProvincial nominee for NFC - Sindh ISBN: 978-969-8736-12-5 us Follow Editorial Integration of FATA: now is the time he Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are at the lowest across the country. Tragically, anemic economic forefront of public attention and this time mostly for good development and a lack of employment opportunities for youth is Treasons. The ongoing military operation has delivered against encouraging radicalization and may be a catalyst for recruitment violent groups contributing to a substantial reduction of violence in intoviolentgroups. the country during the last year – up to 50 percent according to data from the Pakistan Institute for Con0ict and Security Studies. Internal Recent global studies show that countries with weak governance displacement caused by the operation swelled to 302 thousand structures which are also plagued by violence have not met any families but, since then 36 percent have returned home and more Millennium Development Goal at all. Such fragile countries have are expected soon. The Government's Sustainable Return and experienced 20 times more poverty than those with established Rehabilitation Strategy, aimed at increasing investments in the areas governance systems. While debates on the constitutional status of returns, is now well underway and development partners have of FATA are extremely important and must continue, there are also mobilized.Importantly,thereareseriousproposalsforconsideration comparatively straight forward opportunities upon which to from different sectors including the executive, the military and capitalize.These include the introduction of the local government parliamentarians related to integrating FATAinto the rest of Pakistan, system which can build on the recently introduced municipal recognizing that any development investment will be meaningful committees, the gradual extension of the country's formal justice for the people of FATA only if accompanied by decisive system – both formal and alternate dispute resolution - and administrative, governance, legal and constitutional reforms. reforms to the administration systems including the civilian law Consensus on all those fronts is critical for stability in Pakistan and enforcement agencies. The civil society of FATA, including the theregion,andapreconditionforsustainablehumandevelopment lawyers, have so far played a critical role in raising voice for the rights of the people of FATA. They must be supported and The extension of established governance systems and strengthenedtocontinueplayingthiscrucialrole. constitutional provisions applicable in the rest of Pakistan to FATA, is a development and human right imperative. Many believe the The improvement in the security situation and the consensus Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) contravenes the basic rights of the among different stakeholders on the urgent need for FATA citizens of Pakistan enshrined in the Constitution. The FCR poses, at mainstreaming has afforded a momentous opening for the times, a challenge to the application of international law and country and must not be wasted. The current efforts, which must conventions related to the access to justice, civil participation and continue to be fully led and owned by Pakistani leaders and economic development which Pakistan adheres to. The Peshawar institutions, especially those by the High Level Committee and High Court in its April 2014 judgement observed that denial of the proposed bill in the National Assembly, are an opportunity to fundamental rights to the people of FATA, which are available to make long overdue decisions to include FATA formally into the other citizens, has allowed the tribal areas to become a most national polity and serve the country's development interests. dangerous territory. The Court also raised concerns over the This issue of DAP on FATA is an effort in this regard as it brings inadequate regulatory mechanisms to check the use of power by the together the analysis and views of the government and Pakistanis FATA administration, which may also lead not only to poor onFATA'sdevelopmentandmainstreaming. development performance but, also denial of basic rights.The Court also advised the Federal Government to submit a reference in the Parliament for suitable amendments to the Constitution to protect fundamentalhumanrightsinFATA. The current legal system was introduced by the British in late 19th Century but for entirely different reasons. The elected representatives from FATA can legislate for everyone except the people who elect them. The Political Agent has unbridled executive and judiciary powers. Under the“collective responsibility”provision of the FCR, people are held responsible for the crimes committed by someoneelse. The current status of FATA benets considerably a few individuals to the detriment of the people of FATA and the country. It does not provide an enabling environment for human development which in turn makes it extremely difficult to stabilize in the medium to long term. FATA signicantly lags on social and economic indicators when compared to the rest of the country.The Human Development Index for FATA is a mere 0.216 as compared to Punjab's 0.705 and 0.891 for Islamabad. The net primary enrolment rates in FATA are well below the national average. The expected years of schooling in FATA is 6.7 years compared to the national average of 9.4 years and the living standard index for FATAis just 27.7 compared to the national average of 71. The Gender Parity Index in primary education in FATA is the © UNDP Pakistan 01 Analysis Constitutionalstatus Adult franchise denied to tribesmen was untapped. A large portion of the tribal .nally introduced in 1996 to elect National population is engaged in the transport Assembly members. Until 2011, elections business and around 60 percent of the FATA in perspective: FATA maintained its special status in the were still not held on party basis and employed men work either abroad, within .rst Constitution of Pakistan adopted in political parties were not sanctioned to oroutsideKP(MICS2007). March 1956. In the 1962 Constitution, operate. It was only in 2011, that