A genuine call for reform

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), caught in the eye of an international storm of accusations these days, have been the subject of much debate and discussion inside and outside the country. The Sustainable Development Policy Institute and Action-aid, Pakistan co-hosted a national consultation on "Fata: Reforms and Modalities" in Islamabad Tuesday.
A noteworthy aspect of the programme was that those who spoke included the actual stakeholder: tribal elders, members of Fata peace committees, academics, religious scholars, and representatives of the Frontier province's major political parties as well as civil society and a grand tribal alliance. Their suggestions, therefore, carry a lot of weight.
A key suggestion was the formation of an independent and elected council to restore peace and end conflict in the tribal region. The Federal Minister for Environment, Hamidullah Jan Afridi, whose party has won the largest electoral support in the adjoining NWFP and has also been engaged in negotiations with the extremist elements in our tribal badlands, called for legal reforms.
In doing so he too returned to the same theme of representative politics, saying such reform must be undertaken in consultation with the people of Fata, followed by massive socio-economic investment and sustained efforts toward human development that must be focused on better education, gainful employment opportunities, and infrastructure construction.
Indeed, there is a general consensus on that Fata must be lifted out of pervasive poverty and backwardness, and brought into the fold of mainstream - something the past governments neglected for reasons of expediency in the name of the tribal people's desire to retain their old traditions and culture. That neglect has now come to haunt this country and the rest of the world, inviting interventionist activity from the US forces in Afghanistan and from Washington threats of worse things to come.
It is obvious enough that the problem of extremist violence cannot be resolved through the use of force alone. Dialogue and economic development must get precedence. In order to be effective such a process must be pushed by those who have the trust and support of the local population. And also, the government must recognise the tribal people's right to be treated as equal citizens, the laws of the state having applicability there too. As a first and important step in that direction the political parties must be allowed to function in Fata like in other parts of the country.
The matter has assumed urgency in view of the government's recent decision to double the developmental funds for Fata, and to generate economic activity, with American help, in 'special opportunity zones'. There is need to put in place a monitoring system supervised by the proposed Fata council. Such an arrangement is required in any situation where state funds are involved, all the more so in the present case.
It may be recalled that a couple of months ago, participating in a Senate standing committee discussion, ANP's Senator Haji Adeel had said that only 50 percent of the total funds earmarked for development funds are actually spent on the areas' development, which is hardly surprising given that those running these programmes are not accountable to the Fata people. The call for instituting an elected council in Fata sounds perfectly plausible. It's time to give serious consideration to this matter.