Finally, Islamabad has approved the merging of Fata with KP. On March 2 the cabinet met in the capital under the chair of PM Nawaz Sharif and approved the Fata Reforms Bill, which recommended the merger. Speaking at the meeting, PM Sharif stressed the need to focus on underdeveloped areas with the aim to improve the living standards of people.

“The time has come that the tribal people will be brought into [the] mainstream to end their sense of deprivation.”

It was indeed a landmark achievement for the whole country, particularly for the tribal people, to bring Fata into the mainstream after a process of five years.

In November 2015 the parliamentarians from Fata had submitted a bill and demanded the merger with KP. In this regard PM Nawaz Sharif formed a five-member Fata Reforms Committee under the supervision of his Advisor on Foreign Affairs Mr. Sartaj Aziz.

The committee visited all seven agencies and FRs, and met with different people of the area. Finally the committee came up with the draft bill and put four different options before the cabinet and National Assembly. The committee proposed the merging of Fata with KP which was also the demand of the Fata parliamentarians.

Fata is governed by the draconian Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) made by the British. These laws give all powers to the political agent and they can punish the entire tribes and clans for the actions of individuals. Our Constitution doesn’t allow parliamentarians from FATA to legislate for their area and Section 7 keeps the tribal region outside the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the high courts. In these reforms, the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Peshawar High Court will be extended to this region.

However, this reform and merging with KP has some pros and cons, which have varying impacts on the lives of tribal people.

These reforms will empower the common masses and they will rule the system. Democratic dispensation will be erected. The people of Fata will be given free mandate to elect their representatives in next year’s general elections and 3 percent of the National Finance Commission (NFC) award will be allocated to the region. Introduction of Local Government (LG) system are part of the 24-point FATA reforms. However, LG polls will be held after 2018 general elections. The reforms will give the power to the people of the areas to challenge their case in both Supreme Court and Peshawar High Court.

The inhabitants of tribal areas are ethno-linguistically, socially and economically linked and connected with the adjacent settled areas and hence presume no issue of merging with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It will decrease their sense of deprivation and resentment being divided in different administrative compartmentalization, which is a colonial construct.

Presently Fata has representation only in the National Assembly. Its merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will not only give the tribal people representation in the Provincial Assembly, but will also strengthen their position in the National Assembly, effectively playing their role for the solution of their problems. FATA’s merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will also have the added advantage of squeezing and depriving space to the non-state actors, the stronger the system and the lesser the chances to challenge the writ.

Along with all these pros the merging with KP has some cons which will affect the lives of the tribal people.

It was proposed in the reforms that FCR will be replaced with the local Riwaj Act, but there is no difference between the FCR and Riwaj, just a change of name. In simple words both FCR and Riwaj Act are the two sides of the same coin. One wonders that if the country has a Constitution why is there another law for the tribal people. There is no need of any other laws like Riwaj Act. What we need is implementation of Constitution of the country.

Following the merger Fata will completely lose its seats in the Senate. The people of the area will also lose their quota system in various departments, like their seats in central superior services and other competitive exams. Fata will also lose its share in the National Finance Commission and other shares of the finance.

Even so, Fata reforms will further integrate the Federation of Pakistan, creating unity among different parts and people. The image of the country will be enhanced and the government will be in an effective position to handle the war on terrorism in accordance with laws and regulations. The anti-smuggling and drug trafficking measures could be effectively implemented that could enhance the national revenue.

At the same time Fata will not maintain its separate identity. It will become an integral part of the KP province, giving it a new recognition among the provinces in Pakistan. The people of Fata will be regarded as an integral part of Pakistan and would no longer be at the whims of an unjust and unaccountable system. It is really a landmark achievement of the PML-N government to transform the centuries old tribal society into a vibrant democratic civil society in Pakistan.