The document discusses the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. It notes that FATA covers 27,224 square kilometers and is home to around 3.17 million people. The region consists of 7 tribal agencies administered by political agents under the British-era Frontier Crimes Regulation, which excludes the people of FATA from Pakistan's normal legal and political systems. This has allowed the region to remain isolated and underdeveloped, serving as a haven for militants and criminal groups. The document argues that establishing the rule of law in FATA through integrating it into Pakistan's legal framework is essential to promote peace and counter radicalization.

3.  Population: 3.17 Million
which about 2% of the total population
of Pakistan.
 Area: 27,224 Sq Km,
which is roughly 3% of the Pakistan’s total
area.
1998 Census

4.  The Tribal Areas consists of Seven
Agencies, which are administered by a
Political Agent.
 Four Frontier Regions (small pockets of
Tribal Areas) administered under the FCR
from the Settled Districts.

5. Bajaur Agency: Population of around 595,000.
Main T Tribes: Tarkani and
Utmankhel
Khyber Agency: Population around 547,000. Main
Tribes Afridi and Shinwari.
Kurram Agency: Population of around 450,000. Main
Tribes: Turi and Bangash.
Mohmand Agency: Population of around 334,000. Main
Tribe: Mohmand.
Orakzai Agency: Population of around 225,000. Main
Tribe: Orakzai.
South Waziristan: Population of around 430,000. Main
Tribes: Wazir and Mehsud.
North Waziristan: Population of around 361,000. Main
Tribes: Wazir and Dawar.

6. • All but one of the Tribal Agencies share
border with Afghanistan (The Durrand-Line).
• 600 Km of the 2500 Km Long Durrani Line lies
in the Tribal Areas.
• All tribes are ethnically Pukhtoon (or
Afghan), Muslim (predominantly Sunni) by
religion, speak Pushtu language, attributes
that they share with their Pukhtoon brothers
in Afghanistan, North- West Frontier and the
Baluchistan Provinces of Pakistan.

7. • Tribal Areas are usually areas with largely or
exclusively Tribal population, Which are
characterised by its isolation, distinct culture,
primitive traits and the economic backwardness.
(Lokur Committee Report, 1965)
• Tribalism is the belief in fidelity of one’s own kind,
defined by ethnicity, language culture, language
and religion. (John Naisbitt: The Global Paradox)
• Tribal Areas or People are usually excluded from the
normal political, administrative and judicial structures
of the country.

8. • Do the people of the Tribal Areas of
Pakistan have a unique culture,
language, religion or even history?
• Are the exclusions of the people of Tribal
Areas from the mainstream
administrative, political and judicial
systems of the country only because of
the ‘law’.
• Strategic Significance.
• Vulnerabilities.

9. • Over the millenniums South Asia has seen
many foreign invaders, including the Aryans
and Persians, Greeks (Macedonians),
Mongols, Arabs, Afghans, the British.
• Most of the invaders came to South Asia
through the passes in the present day Tribal
Areas.
• Kabul has been a popular staging post for
many South Asian adventures and has
been eyed with suspicion each India ruler.

10.  The Mughals who ruled both Delhi and
Kabul (16th
to 18th
century), never totally
subdued the Pukhtoon tribes.
 Remained concerned with keeping the
communication routes to Kabul open.
 1747 Ahmed Khan, established the
Kingdom of Afghanistan, called himself
the Durr-e-Durran, Pearl of Pearls…. The
Durrani Dynasty.

11. • The Hill Tribes (around the present day Tribal
Areas) were too unruly and never got into
the Imperial Mughal fold.
• The Mughal like all previous Kings were
concerned more with collecting revenue
and left other matters to the tribes.
• Emperor Babur (early 16th
century) in his
memoirs mentions sending a force to the
Bangash Tribe who had refused to pay
taxes. To this day they do not pay any
taxes.

12. • Tribal people, governed by Customary Law.
• Riwaj (custom) and Nurkh (precedent).
• The highly romanticized Code of Honour.
Custom of Melmastiya, Nanawati and
Badal.
• Main decision making and adjudication
body: The Jirga.
• Jirga means a circle in Mongol and
probably signifies equality of its members.
• Members of Jirgas are usually the influential
and generally women were excluded.

13.  The British arrived in the region in the 19th
century. Coming from the Punjab
(dislodging the Sikh rule) by a mixture of
conquest, intrigue and agreement.
 Adventures into Afghanistan.
 Two expanding empires; Czarist Russia
and the British Empire. The Great
Game?
 Afghanistan a Buffer State?

14. • Durrand-Line drawn in 1893. Separating
Colonial India and the Afghanistan.
• In 1901 North West Frontier Province was
created (4 districts separated from the
Punjab) the remaining area between these
districts and the Durrand line became the
Tribal Areas.
• Treaties with the local tribes, to keep the
peace and the communication routes and
means.
• Frontier Crimes Regulation, 1901 (earlier
FCR 1848, 1873 and 1876)

15. • Concentrates all police, executive and
judicial functions in the Deputy
Commissioner (the Political Agent).
• Principle of collective responsibility and
collective punishment.
• Adjudication through a Jirga. Members
local Maliks, appointed by the Political
Agent.
• Council of Elders (Jirga) decide on points of
fact both in civil as well as criminal cases.
• Decisions of Jirga not binding on the
political Agent.

16.  Jirgas decided cases under the riwaj
(customary law which is generally
regressive and unusually harsh to
women).
 No legal representation, no cross-
examination.
 Security for Good Behaviour (sec 40, 42)
 No Judicial Review.
 Codification of Customary law. The
evolving customary law frozen in time.

17. • Trials: no evidence is recorded. No trained
police force, no investigation, no scientific
evidence.
• As Maliks loyal to the Government, Jirgas
open to Government manipulation. Lack
credibility.
• Jirgas good only as a device to reach
settlements.
• Admit here-say evidence.
• Writ of the Government: Protected,
Administered, and Inaccessible.

18. • Can regular laws be extended without
‘development’.
• The districts of NWFP were developed?
Trained police force (detection and
investigation), courts and prison system.
Lawyers?
• Regular Laws: Financial Commitment.
• The Minto-Morley Reforms. First World War.
Change of British Policy?
• Government of India Act, 1935: ‘Excluded
Areas’.

19. • Creation of Pakistan.
• The Indian Independence Act abrogated the
agreements with the Tribes.
• Tribal Maliks signed instruments of accession to
Pakistan.
• Independence: did not make any difference
for the people of the Tribal Areas.
• The Constitutions of Pakistan 1958 and 1962
retained the ‘Excluded Area’ device.
• Guarantee of Fundamental Rights: Judicial
Challenges could be raised.

20. • Declared unconstitutional more then
once.
“….obnoxious to all recognized modern
principles of administration of Justice”
Justice AR Cornelius, Federal Court
• Doctrine of Eclipse.

21. • Constitution of 1973: Tribal Areas, (called the Federally
Administered tribal Areas).
• Governed by the President through the Governor of the
NWFP.
• General laws of the country. President extends laws
through Presidential Regulations
• Legislators from FATA legislated for rest of the country but
not FATA.
• No Jurisdiction of the Superior Courts not granted
jurisdiction.
• Residents of FATA have Fundamental Rights guaranteed
by the Constitution but no forum to enforce them.
• No political activity, allowed. Elections. Adult Franchise.

22. • Government Policy in FATA.
• Glorified the FCR and the tribal.
• Rule of Law: Financial Commitment
• Remained Lawless.
• No legitimate economic activity. Trade
and industry.
• No Revenue system. Business? Bank
Loans?
• Defective Criminal Justice System

23.  Haven for Mafias: Guns, Narcotics,
timber. Smuggling electronic goods etc.
 Grazing grounds for bureaucrats.
 When the Russians finally did invade
Afghanistan, The undeveloped,
inaccessible FATA finally served its
purpose.
 Seven million Automatic Rifles and
grenades, rocket launchers and even
light artillery pieces in FATA and NWFP.

24. • The fighting between the various
Mujahideen factions at the end of the war.
• The Afghan Civil War.
• Emergence of a group calling themselves
the Taliban.
• Taliban literally means a religious students in
Pushtu. (singular Talib).
• Claim they are religious Students and want
to bring Afghanistan under Islamic Rule.

25.  Taliban at the time were seen as “fighting
force with decentralized ad faceless
leadership”,
 Took over Kabul in September 1996.
 Recognized only by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia
and UAE.
• Almost all are ethnically Puhktoons (as
against Tajiks and Hazaras).
• Enforce Islamic Law: which provides both
the justification and the legitimacy of there
rule.

26.  For Taliban and other Militants FATA was
a gift from heaven.
 Spread into the Tribal Areas and some
settled districts of the NWFP.
 Killing of a handful of local Maliks was all
it took to take control of Waziristan.
 Pakistan is now paying dearly its policies
in FATA.

27. • The people of the Tribal Areas have been forced to
remain in ‘tribalism’ through exclusions created by law.
• The system that has been imposed on the people of FATA
not much better terror regime of the Taliban.
• Peace can only be achieved (and Talibanisation arrested)
by establishing the Rule of Law which requires not only
huge financial commitment will but also strong political.
• A logical first step would be to extend the jurisdiction of
the superior court has to extended to the tribal to FATA.
• Steps need to be taken to a create a legitimate Economy
in the FATA.