1. FATA REFORMS COUNCILS AND THE SHAHEED BHUTTO FOUNDATION
The Shaheed Bhutto Foundation (SBF), is a non-profit, apolitical and nongovernmental welfare
organization, founded on December 3, 2005. The Foundation envisages having a prosperous Pakistan
where justice prevails and citizens are valued irrespective of their race, religion, political opinion or
gender.
In 2008, SBF engaged tribal leaders, political parties and civil society during a series of regional
workshops in FATA. More than 300 tribal representatives participated in the workshops and identified
their reform priorities. The roundtables and experts’ conferences organized by the SBF brought to light a
number of realistic and workable recommendations never before discussed or debated.
The recommendations were later presented to the President of Pakistan on January 24, 2009. The
President--while considering the recommendations--assured the tribal leaders that their recommendations
would be implement as soon as possible after receiving feedback from the government.
On August 14, 2009 the Hon’ble President, hearing the voices of the neglected people of FATA,
announced the Presidential Reforms Package 2011. Following enactment of the reforms package in
August 2011, the first ever party-based elections took place in FATA and the seeds for democracy were
sown. Though all recommendations as presented by SBF were not approved, the reforms did
accommodate the major recommendations proposed by FATA citizens. The reforms made gains toward
mainstreaming FATA in the political domain by extension of the Political Parties Order and substantial
amendments to the archaic and unpopular Frontier Crimes Regulation of 1901.
Now, four years later, realizing that there is still much to be done, SBF has again activated its channels
across FATA and organized a series of workshops, including tribal citizens from all seven agencies and
frontier regions (FRs) of FATA, tribal students and women, representing a cross-section of society. These
FATA citizens organized in FATA Reforms Councils and debated and deliberated on the state of
implementation of 2011 reforms and recommended further reforms. These workshops were held
throughout 2012 and 2013.
Following discussions and recommendations by individual FATA Reforms Councils, SBF brought
together all participants under one roof to come to consensus, thereby converting the recommendations
and suggestions from the workshops into a unified and united FATA Declaration. In this regard a FATA
Grand Assembly was held in Peshawar on June 22, 2013.
On behalf of the citizens of FATA, the unanimously approved FATA Declaration will now be presented by
FATA Reforms Council members to the highest political authority, the President of the Islamic Republic
of Pakistan.
June 22, 2013
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