ISLAMABAD: The land disputes, which have so far claimed about 70 lives in various newly created tribal districts, turned out to be a major challenge amid other issues for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, since the merger of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with the province through 25th Constitutional Amendment in May 2018.
Deadly skirmishes over land possession have been witnessed in various tribal districts in recent months including Bajaur, Mohmand, South Waziristan and Kurram with several tribes using weaponry against each other, given no proper land record of the plain as well as hilly areas.
To resolve land disputes among the tribes, Awami National Party (ANP) constituted a nine-member committee with representation from all the tribal districts which negotiated with the tribes to resolve issues through local jirgas and avoid armed confrontation.
"The government has ignored the merged districts and it is not fulfilling the promises made with the people of these districts at the time of merger," said Aimal Wali Khan, the provincial president of the ANP.
He said the committee led by the MPA from Mohmand district Nisar Khan visited the merged districts and tried to resolve issues through talks. He pointed out that Mahsud and Bhittani tribes had land dispute in the erstwhile frontier region (FR) Jandola and the committee has been able to negotiate the issue through talks.
He further pointed out that extremist elements were regrouping in the merged districts, adding that their activities should be controlled or 'else it could cause uncontrollable damage'.
The ANP leader further claimed that the Taliban were regrouping in South Waziristan, while the incidents of target killings are on the rise in North Waziristan.
PPP MNA from Kurram tribal district Sajid Hussain Turi pointed out that the provincial government is planning to introduce a revenue system in the newly merged districts, but without taking the people and their representatives into confidence.
According to him, the land disputes in the tribal district are among the major challenges, which the government has failed to resolve. In Kurram, he pointed out that 60 to 70 percent record of land is available while in Bajur there is only 4 to 5 percent record exist.
He further stated that police force in the tribal districts are lacking facilities, such as manpower and proper training of registration of first information reports (FIRs) at police stations.
The only progress, he pointed out was on the road networks. "Thanks to the Chinese government and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) due to which construction and repair works have been initiated on the roads in various tribal districts," he added.
Talking to this correspondent, Haji Kamal Hussain, a tribal elder in Kurram, said that the people of the newly merged districts are still feeling alienated and are facing problems in resolution of their problems.
He pointed out that people from the tribal districts are facing severe problems due to blockage of their Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) and passports because of the lengthy verification process.
However land disputes due to lack of proper land records in various merged districts is not the only challenge facing the implementation of Fata reforms, finalized by Sartaj Aziz-led committee in August 2016; there has also been little progress on other important recommendations such as initiation of a judicial system after the revocation of (Frontier Crimes Regulation) and modernization of the police force following its transformation from levies force.
There are serious concerns in the locals and their representatives in parliament over lack of progress on various sectors including the critical recommendation that 3 percent of gross divisible pool i.e. Rs 100 billion be allocated every year for the next 10 years, to finance a comprehensive socio-economic development plan for ex-FATA.
Riaz Ghafoor, a spokesperson for the provincial ministry of local government, elections and rural development, however, pointed out that since merger of the tribal districts with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial government has activated all the government machinery to bring the newly merged districts at par with the settled areas.
About law and order situations and building capacity of the police force, he maintained that security situations have improved significantly and the issue of the salaries of the police in the tribal districts has also been resolved and same facilities are being extended to them.
Regarding the judicial system, he added that the already established judicial system in the province has been extended to the tribal districts while dispute resolution councils (DRCs) are also being set up.
However, he acknowledged that the impacts of the decades old FCR still exit both on the institutions and the people, adding that government is making efforts to completely bring the tribal districts at par with the settled areas.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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