Reforms in FATA will not help
The Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) was legalized by the British government in 1901, to control tribal territory through a political agent. However, the recently introduced amendments in the infamous FCR are cosmetic ones, and will not bring any visible change to the life of tribal people. The amendments state the follows: 1- No one can be indefinitely detained, and people will have the right to appeal in the FCR tribunal which will have equal power as the High Court. 2- Cases will be decided in a fixed time frame and those arrested can be released on bail. 3- Women and children below the ...
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Overcoming our colonial legacy
On August 12, Pakistan finally came to grips with its colonial legacy. The Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), a draconian law framed by British to govern the ‘unruly tribal areas’ on the border with Afghanistan has finally been scrapped. The British viewed the frontier regions as a buffer zone for the empire, beyond which lay the territories of Afghanistan. The frontier tribes were never brought under complete suzerainty of Britain, although indirect rule was exercised through tribal chiefs and intermediaries. The Pashtuns, historically allergic to foreign occupation offered strong resistance to the British. Thus naturally, the brutes and savages had to be ...
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Parachinar: Heaven turned to hell
On a beautiful overcast evening, while I was travelling from Islamabad to the historic city of Taxila I began to reminisce about my childhood in Parachinar in the 1990s – a place where fairies came down from heaven , a valley of tall, lush trees filled with sweet smelling flowers and delicious fruit. Children sang songs of liberty without knowing that this vale of roses would be stained with the blood of their neighbours and we would be receiving mutilated bodies of our beloveds. Who knew that the ferocious Taliban would attack us from all sides just because we wouldn’t agree with ...
Read Full PostFATA, overlooked, ignored
Sixty three years have gone by but Pakistan could neither bring FATA in the mainstream of the country, politically or constitutionally nor improved the life of common man there. Twenty first century’s innovations, permutations, novelties, upgraded lifestyle, scientific developments and many more have nothing to do with life of the people of tribal areas of Pakistan. They are living in the Stone Age with warfare, humiliations, lack of health and educational facilities. While the rest of the country looks to evolve human rights, the people of FATA are being ruled by archaic black law of FCR under which a common government ...
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