Pakistan merge two provinces

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Understanding the Realpolitik Behind Pakistan's FATA-KP Provincial Merger

https://thediplomat.com/2018/05/und...k-behind-pakistans-fata-kp-provincial-merger/

Why did a long-proposed idea to unite FATA and KP finally come to fruition now, in 2018?

In an unprecedented show of unity and a rare parliamentary consensus, the National Assembly (NA) of Pakistan has voted to merge the country’s tribal districts, known together the as the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA), with the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The merger of the region comes at a time when the current Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government has almost completed its constitutional term in office. While it’s encouraging to see all major political parties coming together to support FATA’s regulation, the smooth sailing of the legislation was ultimately the result of a combination of institutional and political interests coming into alignment rather than a decision borne of political conviction.

The country’s ordinary governance structures do not apply to the tribal districts, as they have been governed through a colonial-era legal regime, the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). Efforts to merge FATA with KP have existed for decades. However, previous attempts never found consensus. Reforms have most often been undermined by political conflicts, watering down most governments’ preliminary proposals. On the other hand, the military in Pakistan has seldom offered its support for any political process aimed at extending the country’s constitutional structures to FATA. This has largely been due to the region’s importance in Pakistan’s regional security policy, which for all the right and wrong reasons, has benefited from the FATA’s lawlessness – a direct result of nonexistent constitutional structures there.

Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that Pakistan’s military has never made efforts to normalize the region. Pakistan’s former president, General Pervez Musharraf, did consider “integrating FATA into Pakistan’s ordinary governance structures by extending the geographical scope of some version of the Local Governance Ordinance of 2001 as well as of the Political Parties Act of 2002.” A number of analysts note that there is a growing desire in the military to mainstream the FATA region. The army fears that “without a serious effort to extend the full writ of Pakistani law to the FATA, the area would never be pacified.”

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For the Pakistani military, there are two reasons to support the extension of Pakistan’s constitution to the region in its entirety. First, the military understands that if Pakistan is to consolidate on the counterterrorism gains that it has made over the last few years, FATA should become a region that is fully regulated. The presence of local governance mechanisms can only ensure that militants remain isolated and their ability to penetrate the region is constantly challenged.

Second, the pressure created by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) cannot be ignored. The PTM has criticized the military for its heavy-handed approach in terms of dealing with ethnic Pashtuns living in Pakistan’s tribal areas. The movement has attracted strong support internationally and successfully built a narrative that accuses the military’s heavy presence as a reason for the region’s ill-treatment. While the military may have been planning to ensure FATA’s regulation, the pressure generated by PTM has only expedited the process.

Under current circumstances, where the PTM is challenging the military’s influence in the country, it’s all the more important for the military to regulate FATA in an effort to take away PTM’s power. “The extension of constitutional rights to FATA is a positive development. However, PTM remains above the debate on FATA merger as it is against those who don’t respect constitution & courts. Still is a long way to go,” said one of the PTM leaders in a statement.

All major political parties that have signed onto the FATA merger bill have done it to ultimately tap into the Pashtun ethnic vote bank. The merger happened with the next general election only months away. It’s significant to note all efforts aimed at merging FATA into KP during the last five years have failed due to political parties’ inability to find consensus on the issue.

It not clear whether the regulation of FATA means that Pakistan is changing its regional security policy, however. Historically, Pakistan’s military has preferred a porous border with Afghanistan. The impending progress in FATA, which is likely to accelerate after the region’s merger with KP, will surely bring stability and security along the Durand Line, which is essential to not only restore stability in Pakistan but also for the region in general.

Pakistani police officers stand guard at the main entrance of the provincial assembly in Peshawar during a protest against the bill to merge the tribal region along the Afghan border with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. (AP)

 

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FATA merger: A forced marriage doomed to fail?

http://www.atimes.com/fata-merger-a-forced-marriage-doomed-to-fail//

With a population of more than 405 million and an area of 27,000 square kilometers, Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas’ seven agencies (Bajaur, Khyber, Momand, Kurram, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, and Orakzai) and six frontier regions have been merged into the northwestern province of Khyber Pashtunkhwa.

Historically, the frontier region along the Afghanistan border was strategically vital to colonial powers in terms of their economic, political and security interests in Central-South Asia. To contain Russian expansion to Central-South Asia, the British Empire invaded Afghanistan and two wars were fought- in 1839-42 and 1878-79, respectively.

In 1979, Pakistan and the US made the region a hub for jihadists to fight against the Russian presence in Afghanistan. Tens of thousands of mujahedeen and international proxies were installed in the FATA to counter the USSR’s presence in Afghanistan. The culturally rich and socially peaceful fabric of the frontier region was transformed into one of extremism and religious fundamentalism that brought remarkable changes to the entire structure of the region.

Exploiting the instability, the Pakistani authorities were able to control the FATA from Islamabad. Their tactical military operation against trained terrorist elements in the FATA led to political instability, economic crises, cultural destruction and administrative failures. Consequently, the federal government decided that the FATA needed to be brought into the mainstram to secure Islamabad’s geopolitical and geo-strategic interests.

In November 2015, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif formed a five-member FATA reforms committee to look into its future; either merging it with Khyber Pashtunkhwa or focusing on economic, political and social reforms to develop the region. A detailed report was drafted but the views of the people of the FATA regarding their future were completely ignored.

Recently, the Pakistani establishment put pressure on political parties to merge the FATA with Khyber Pashtunkhwa for the sake of security and the protection of strategic interests. On May 24, parliament merged the FATA with Khyber Pashtunkhwa. The merger aims to help the state to secure its strategic interests and assuage China’s concerns over security threats.

Problems on the horizon

The decision to merge the FATA with Khyber Pashtunkhwa was arguably unwise, as it will create new problems with the passage of time. The Pakistani authorities don’t understand the dangers of merging areas into other regions without a plebiscite. In a democracy, every individual has the right to an opinion. In the FATA’s case, the entire population (more than 4.5 million) was ignored and forced into a marriage with with Khyber Pashtunkhwa. The northwestern province is plagued by security threats, unemployment, crime, political corruption and infrastructural failure. The FATA’s forced marriage will exacerbate these problems of both the country and the province.

Unfortunately, the myopic approach of Pakistani policymakers, who are more concerned about geography than integrity and development, are putting the country on the road to disintegration and insecurity. In the current scenario, the merger doesn’t mean integrating Pakistan but pushing the country towards more serious issues that will surely lead to a crisis.

In 1969, the merger of the former princely state of Swat into Pakistan is a vivid example in this regard. Swat is now facing insecurity, economic problems and infrastructural challenges. The situation has also created more problems for Pakistan, ie conflicts, insecurity, lawlessness, economic failure, wretched infrastructure and educational failure.

The best option for ensuring the political stability and economic prosperity of the FATA was to grant it special status modeled on the Gilgit-Biltistan Council. As a council, it could have ably administered economic and political affairs. Anyway, let’s see how long this forced marriage survives.g

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The frontier tribal region (FATA) became sandwiched between the British and Afghan forces. The tribal Pashtun supported Kabul against the British forces and the British colonial forces were defeated in the First Anglo-Afghan War of 1839, but became victorious in the Second Anglo-Afghan War of 1878-79. Despite the victory, the British faced heavy and constant attacks by the Pashtuns, a serious threat to their interests in the region.

In 1893, the British compelled the then king of Afghanistan, Amir Abdur Rehman, to sign the Durand Line Agreement, which enabled the colonial power to implement the Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR) in the area for administrative and political purposes. The region remained a self-governing zone independent of the British legal system in place on the sub-continent, even after the establishment of Pakistan in 1947. Its administrative affairs were controlled by tribal elders and political agents under the auspices of the FCR.

In 1947-8, the then governor general of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, ordered airstrikes on the frontier region to crush the liberation movement led by Faqir of Ipi (Haji Mirza Ali Khan Wazir). But later on, Quaid e Azam agreed to accept the unique status of tribal areas as per the agreement. Since 1947, the FATA has been a semi-autonomous authority under the FCR.

Five articles of Pakistan’s 1973 constitution – 1, 2, 51, 57 and 247 – were extended to the FATA to confirm it as an integral part of the country. Article 1 and 2 confirmed the territory as part of Pakistan and articles 51, 57 and 247 extended the authority of the president to the region. But the FATA was still not completely under the government of Pakistan’s control.