1. Mainstreaming of FATA into
Pakistani Media Legal Framework
Why political reforms in FATA will
not work without media reforms
A Briefing Paper produced by INTERMEDIA
Muhammad Aftab Alam and Adnan Rehmat
Islamabad, November 2011
Listening to the Radio in Waziristan – Photo by Aurangzaib Khan

3. The State of Media Freedoms in FATA and its Impact
on Political Freedoms: Problems and Solutions
Backgrounder
F ederally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest
of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan. Due to its
special status in the Constitution of Pakistan, it has been governed through a special
governance structure since 1901. As a result the people of the region do not have the same rights in
promise or practice as those the people in the rest of the country. The main reason behind this is the
non-existence of various legal structures essential for the FATA residents to exercise their
fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution. One of these legal structures, which have not
been extended so far to the areas, is the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA),
which can guarantee access to information as enshrined in Article 19A of the Constitution and
freedom of expression as stipulated in Article 19.
Unlike the rest of Pakistan where stupendous growth of media since the opening up of the airwaves
to private ownership in recent years has radically changed the dynamics of how a pluralist media
accesses, processes, generates and distributes information, absence of an electronic media
licensing or regulatory authority for FATA has resulted in continued ‘information darkness’ in the
area relative to the rest of the country. The existing native and legal media in FATA – which is only
radio as there is no local newspaper or TV – is state-run and extremely limited in outreach, virtually
blanks out community voices and operates in practical denial of conflict that is consuming the lives
of the region’s residents. Also mostly not available to people is news and information about local
development projects and public works and the efforts to resolve people’s problems with assistance
from both local and international resources.
FATA is the theatre of conflict between Pakistani and international forces and militants of Taliban
and Al Qaeda. The militancy, including military operations, in the region have displaced hundreds of
thousands from the FATA agencies and added a major socio-economic dimension to the regional
conflict. In such a situation, absence of independent, verifiable, relevant, pluralist and local
information articulated by locals mostly generates rumors, unverified word-of-mouth information
and outsider accounts of local issues that may not be representative of the ground situation.
What this Briefing Paper is About
This Briefing Paper aims at identifying the causes of the relative ‘information darkness’ in FATA in the
absence of indigenous independent local media and exploring mechanisms to improving awareness
and providing support to bring FATA into the fold of mainstream media in Pakistan so that residents
are guaranteed freedom of expression and access to information as enshrined in the Constitution.
The Briefing Paper also attempts to explore the options to introduce private electronic media,
particularly FM radio stations and TV channels, and the required regulatory structure in the FATA
region. This paper will be distributed to participants of a series of advocacy roundtables scheduled
in the last quarter of 2011 to serve as a backgrounder on the subject and to inform the overall
advocacy effort planned in this project.
Why the Need for a Briefing Paper?
This Briefing Paper is part of a series of media development activities under a project, funded by the
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4. Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom (the UK) and being implemented by
Intermedia (www.intermedia.org.pk), a Pakistani media development organization that works on
advocacy, research and training on media issues to promote freedom of expression, access to
information and a professional media. The project, in part, aims to help enlarge the space for
promoting local community information programming in FATA that promotes conditions for stability
and development in the region. As a part of the activities, Intermedia is organizing a series of policy
dialogues with the stakeholders of FATA to explore the option to bring the region into mainstream
Pakistani media landscape. To make the dialogues result-oriented, this Briefing Paper has been
developed to provide technical background and preliminary findings/information on the issue.
What the Briefing Papers Offers
The first part of this Briefing Paper offers a short overview of the legal history of FATA and possible
mechanisms to extend the operations of the laws of the land to the region. The second part provides
an overview of the current state of media in FATA with an attempt to identify gaps between
constitutional rights and guarantees and the ground situation and the triggers behind them. The
third part of the paper explores practical options in legal terms that can possibly enlarge the
conditions and guarantees of free and professional media space in FATA. A few preliminary
recommendations are also offered at the end that can serve to inform the series of advocacy
roundtables. These recommendations will be finalized after consultations with stakeholders and
experts through a series of dialogues in the last quarter of 2011.
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5. PART 1: Constitutional Status of FATA
F ATA is situated between the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and the settled areas of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa (KP). FATA comprises seven tribal agencies and six FR (Frontier Regions). These
agencies are: Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, North Waziristan, and South
Waziristan. The FR regions are: FR Peshawar, FR Kohat, FR Bannu, FR Lakki, FR Tank, and FR Dera Ismail
Khan. According to census data of 1998, FATA is home to a population of roughly 3.18 million. The
population density stands at 117 persons per square kilometer. The average annual population
growth is slightly lower than the KP average of 2.8 per cent and the national average of 2.7 per cent.
The average household consists of 9.3 persons, compared to 8 persons in KP and 6.8 persons
nationally.
Since 1849 FATA has had a unique administrative and political status. To ensure its control over the
area, the colonial rulers imposed a series of laws during 1871 and 1876. These are known as the
Frontier Crimes Regulations, or FCR. The FCR prescribing special procedures for the tribal areas is
distinct from the criminal and civil laws that were in force elsewhere in British India. In 1893, the
British government raised a demarcation with Afghanistan called Durand Line. In 1901, the British
rule issued a new FCR that expanded the scope of earlier regulations and awarded wide powers,
including judicial authority, to administrative officials.
Pakistan inherited this system and more or less continues with it even today. In fact, the accession did
not subsume the political autonomy of the tribes. The instruments of accession, signed in 1948,
granted the tribal areas a special administrative status. Except where strategic considerations
dictated, the tribal areas were allowed to retain their semi-autonomous status, exercising
administrative authority based on tribal codes and traditional institutions. This unique system, given
varying degrees of legal cover in each of the country’s earlier constitutions, was crystallized in
Pakistan’s Constitution of 1973.i
Under the Constitution, the President of Pakistan is the authority to enact laws for FATA. In mid-2011
President Asif Zardari signed two orders regarding Amendments in the FCR (2011) and Extension of
the Political Parties Order 2002 to FATA, aiming to enact deep administrative, judicial and political
reforms on the ground in the tribal areas. Through the reforms, amendments have been made in the
FCR to this effect.
Article 01 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, defines the territories of the republic. The Article
provides that the territories of Pakistan shall comprise:
(a) The Province of Balochistan, North West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), the
Punjab, and Sindh;
(b) The Islamabad Capital Territory, hereinafter referred to as the Federal Capital;
(c) Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
Though the bicameral national parliament has representatives from FATA in both of its houses, the
President of Pakistan holds direct executive authority on the area. Laws framed by the National
Assembly do not apply here unless so ordered first by the President. The FATA has a special status in
the Constitution. The area is governed under Article 247 (3) of the Constitution under which the
President has the authority to legislate for the area. Moreover, the President has the authority to
extend the operation of any law of the land to these areas. Till the latest legal reforms for the area
introduced through a presidential order in August 2011, FATA continued to be governed primarily
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6. through the FCR 1901. The Governor of KP, as an agent to the President of Pakistan, under the overall
supervision of the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions in Islamabad, supervises the functions of the
administrative authorities in FATA.
Unlike the rest of Pakistan where growth of media in recent years has changed the dynamics of how
media accesses, processes, generates and distributes information, absence of an electronic media
licensing or regulatory authority for FATA has resulted in the region missing out on the media reforms
enacted through the PEMRA Ordinance 2002 in mainstream Pakistan, and keeping it relatively
‘information dark’. The existing indigenous and legal media in FATA is only state-owned, which does
not have the mandate, capacity or resources to act as a professional watchdog of public interest
focused on local news, information, education and entertainment. There are no newspapers or any
other current affairs journals published in FATA or any local TV channels. The sole 3 legal radio stations
– a mix of FM and AM broadcasts operated by FATA Secretariat – do not carry news or much
information about terrorism, militancy and the state’s own efforts to combat them, thereby missing
out even on the small window of opportunity of a dialogue between the citizen and the state.
There being no independent, legal radio stations or TV channels in FATA is a consequence of the
jurisdiction of the national broadcast law, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA)
Ordinance, 2002, not being extended to FATA. This lacuna allows militants to run hate-spewing pirate
stations and hijack both the political and development narrative in the region. The only legal Pakistani
media available in the region is owned by the FATA Secretariat and the bureaucracies running the radio
stations are neither trained to treat information as a fundamental right nor have the capacity to offer
and package information even about the government’s development efforts in a way relevant to the
citizens needs and to generate ownership and support of government policies in the region.
Since 2001, a discernible but slow political reforms process has been underway for FATA. The FATA
Secretariat was set up, headed by the Secretary FATA, in 2002. The Civil Secretariat FATA was
established in 2006 to take over decision-making functions, with an Additional Chief Secretary, four
Secretaries and a number of Directors.ii In 2011, President Asif Zardari signed two orders regarding
Amendments in the FCR (2011) and Extension of the Political Parties Order 2002 to FATA, which many
agree could be a prelude to far-reaching administrative, judicial and political reforms on the ground in
the tribal areas. Through the reforms, amendments have been made in Frontier Crimes Regulations
(FCRs) and repressive laws of the colonial era are abolished and the normal laws of the land are will be
applicable to FATA as well.iii
In view of the new push for active reforms, it is imperative to introduce similar steps to help enlarge the
media space and independent media in FATA for promoting greater openness to allow for an informed
local citizenry. Only by promoting a regime of media independence, pluralisms and cultural
expressions can inclusivity, support and ownership of policies be facilitated. If FATA is part of Pakistan
then its residents have the same rights to access information guaranteed under Article 19A of the
constitution and to stay informed. Capacities should be created and consolidated on a priority basis to
improve the quantity and quality of a community information environment that will discourage rumor
and hate speech and crowd out the radical soundbites otherwise propagated by non-representative
groups, which distort the political and religious narrative in FATA. For too long FATA residents have lived
in relative information darkness and deserve to join the information age that mainstream Pakistan is
reaping dividends from. In this backdrop, it is important to understand the existing state of media in
FATA before identification of the key problems and exploration of the options to resolve them.
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7. PART 2: The State of Media in FATA
W ith the growth of media in Pakistan in recent years and the increase in numbers of
journalists, the dynamics of how media accesses, processes, generates and distributes
information and how people consume it have changed. Much information is being
consumed in real time and as conflict and militancy has grown in FATA and KP the mainstream media
is almost completely dominated by conflict soundbites. This has drowned out news and information
about development and public works in FATA in particular and the government’s attention to
resolving people’s problems both with local and international resources.
There are currently only three legal radio stations in FATA which function as AM and FM operations.
One is in Khyber Agency, which is ahead of the pack by dint of its recent willingness to focus on some
community information. It has an operational newsroom and a group of reporters trained to
produce daily bulletins and other information-based programming. Khyber Agency is strategically
important as it is adjacent to Peshawar and, for administrative purposes, the gateway to FATA. The
other two stations are both in North Waziristan Agency in the towns of Razmak and Miranshah. This
agency has been in the thick of militancy for several years now. The two stations here are behind
Khyber Radio for reason of remoteness and active conflict in the region. They are, however,
encouraged by the big success of Khyber Radio and seek to develop similar capacities and re-brand
the stations from virtual government-propaganda broadcasters to local community stations. Under
technical assistance of the project of which this Briefing Paper is a part, the last few months have
seen the three stations for the last few months broadcast daily community information programmes
that promote local voices focused on development activities. The feedback to these programmes is
tremendous and demonstrates a distinct need to establish more radio stations and generate more
such interactive community dialogue and voices.
According to the FATA Communications Strategy report of 2009, over 80% adult men and over 70%
adult women in FATA regularly listen to radio. No local print publication is produced in FATA due to a
virtual ban. Literacy rates are extremely low so not even KP-produced print media is consumed in
any significant quantity. Watching TV is an expensive proposition – both in terms of affordability and
because militant groups discourage it, although a FATA-focused TV channel can be its own
advertisement for progress and openness. Severe power shortages also make this difficult. This
leaves radio as the primary medium for information in FATA. There is a need, among other things, to
build on the limited media space and radio-based information for local communities to help them
join the mainstream Pakistani media space and benefit from it.iv
The following is an outline SWOT analysis for media in FATA produced by Intermedia:
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8. 6

9. PART 3: A Roadmap for Mainstreaming
of FATA Media
PROBLEMS: Gaps between constitutional guarantees/rights and existing
state
A s discussed earlier, the FATA has a special status in the Constitution of the Pakistan. The area
is governed under the Article 247 (3) of the Constitution of Pakistan. Though the Parliament
has representative from the FATA in both of its houses, the President holds direct executive
authority on the area. Laws framed by the National Assembly do not apply here unless so ordered by
the President. Moreover, the President has the authority to extend the operation of any law of the
land to these areas. The most recent example of such exercise of the power is the FATA Reforms,
which is promulgated in August 2011.v
Nevertheless, like rest of the country, the FATA does not have a regulatory framework, which can
issue licenses for private – legal – cable TV operations and private FM radios in the area. In fact, the
existing media regulator PEMRA is not authorized to grant licenses for private broadcast media in
FATA. This legal situation has created a vacuum in tribal areas as legally-owned non-government
media including TV channels or FM radio stations are not allowed or available. Filling the vacuum
instead is a considerable presence of illegal cable operators and pirate FM stations and transmitters
in the area. Most of the existing private [illegal] media outlets are being run by the banned outfits
and militants.vi
According to Article 1 of the Constitution, FATA is part of Pakistan; therefore, the people of the FATA
must have all the same rights enshrined in the Constitution. For the purpose of this paper –
envisaging freedom of expression and access to information in FATA – the most important rights are
given in Article 19 and 19A of the Constitution dealing with these two themes. In addition to these
constitutional provisions, there are mainstream Pakistani laws that are necessary to implement in
FATA to exercise these fundamental rights by the citizens of the tribal areas. These laws include, but
are not limited to: the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Law, Freedom of
Information Law, and Press Registration Law.
Though these laws cannot be termed as ideal legislation – indeed various stakeholders in
mainstream Pakistan have problems with them – they at least serve as tools to exercise fundamental
rights. The August 2011 law reforms in FATA instituted by the President fall short at least in terms of
granting equal rights to residents in tribal areas on the issues of freedom of expression and access to
information. Without these laws, the principal objective of the recent reforms to bring the FATA
residents on a par with the citizens of the settled areas will not be possible. The absence of such laws
is equivalent to negation of the fundamental rights of the people of FATA.
Moreover, the absence of such legal and regulatory frameworks for FATA has created a vacuum that
doesn’t allow legally licensed independent media in the region – a vacuum that is happily filled by
extremist and radical groups. The situation necessitates initiating a holistic debate on extension of
these mainstream Pakistani laws to the FATA territories and exploring additional ways to guarantee
and ensure the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and access to information for the
people of FATA.vii
SOLUTIONS: Possible options to address the problems
In the wake of the above discussion, there is a clear need to explore options to come up with
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10. mechanisms to bridge the gap between fundamental rights and constitutional guarantees and the
situation of denial of these on the ground. As a first step, to get conversant with the real issues and
forge an informed understanding and consensus on solutions thereof, there is a need to engage all
the key stakeholders and seek their views and opinions on them in a series of focused group
roundtables. In the light of the findings and recommendations from the roundtable discussions,
practical actionable options may be identified. These options may include, but not limited to:
• Introducing an independent regulatory framework for independent media in FATA (highly
desirable)
• Extending the operation of existing mainstream Pakistani legislation to the area (desirable)
• Empowering FATA Secretariat or provincial information department to grant licenses for private
media (least desirable)
Roundtable Consultations with FATA Stakeholders
This Briefing Paper is an attempt to articulate the state of media in FATA, the key themes of the
problems related to it and their attendant impact on the region. Intermedia will be conducting a
series of focused group roundtables with key stakeholders related to FATA, including authorities
from FATA, KP and federal government, media, civil society, parliamentarians and media and legal
experts to discuss how the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and access to
information can be ensured for FATA and chart an action plan that can help in mainstreaming of FATA
into Pakistani media legal framework.
A total of four advocacy roundtables will be held to lobby for extending the same legal, jurisdictional
and regulatory rights for independent media in FATA as in the rest of Pakistan to empower local
communities in the region through expanding media space and sources of information in the tribal
areas.
Roundtable 1: Meeting of FATA stakeholders and experts in Peshawar to forge consensus on
mainstreaming FATA into national media landscape.
Roundtable 2: Meeting of media sector stakeholders to review and endorse outcomes of
Roundtable 1 and present to policymakers in Islamabad.
Roundtable 3: Meeting of media and legal experts in Islamabad to draft text on bringing FATA media
rights and freedoms in mainstream Pakistan for presentation to federal parliamentarians.
Roundtable 4: Advocacy meeting with federal parliamentarians to use outcomes of Roundtables 1, 2
& 3 to push for media legal reforms for FATA.
i
The information in this part of the paper is taken from the http://fata.gov.pk/ without any major change.
ii
http://fata.gov.pk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=84
iii
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=109149
iv
Information darkness in FATA, MEDIA MATTERS-4, Adnan Rehmat, Islamabad Dateline – for Jun 3, 2011
v
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C08%5C20%5Cstory_20-8-2011_pg3_5
vi
http://www.globalmedialaw.com/blog/?p=329
vii
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C08%5C20%5Cstory_20-8-2011_pg3_5
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12. About INTERMEDIA PAKISTAN –
www.intermedia.org.pk
I ntermedia Pakistan is a Pakistani independent media development and development
communications organization. Intermedia's vision statement aims at “supporting freedom
of expression, access to information and citizens making informed opinions and decisions as
a means of promoting an informed, democratic and tolerant society.” Intermedia's principal
activities are centered on building technical and professional capacities and competencies of
media organizations, including TV channels, radio stations and newspapers, and media rights
bodies through trainings; promoting free media in Pakistan through fair media laws and
reforms; and carrying out research, advocacy and analysis on democracy and media-related
issues. Intermedia also focuses on building communications capacities of development
organizations to help them improve their outreach. Intermedia focuses on improving the
quality of civic and thematic dialogue and development communications critical to an open,
pluralistic and democratic society by working with civil society groups and development sector
organizations in improving their communications capacities in a dynamically evolving media
sector.
DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions and analysis presented in this document are
those of the authors and may not necessarily reflect the opinion and position of
Intermedia or its supporters. The briefing Paper is aimed at educating stakeholders
on the subject theme only.
Designed & Produced by DZINE ARTISAN 0333 5162008