Introduction

FATA stands for Federally Administered Tribal Areas. It was the part of Pakistan's population
which had been governed under the FCR (Frontier Crime Regulations) from 1901 to 2019.
Actually, the history dates back even further - in around 1849 when colonization was still taking
shape in the Indian subcontinent, the British presented a different law in FATA, which lies on the
north-western border of Pakistan. These people were warriors and were General population
opposing British the most, so to make them more manageable administratively, they presented a
different arrangement of laws which gave them a semi-autonomous status [ CITATION Bai \l 1033 ].

The British Government of India attempted to attach Afghanistan however did not succeed. In
1893, Sir Mortimer Durand arranged an agreement with Amir AbdurRehman Khan of
Afghanistan to fix an incompletely a reviewed line called Durand Line. It runs from Chitral to
Balochistan to designate the zone under the control of Afghans and Britishers respectively. 
In 1901, Lard Curzon created NWFP as well as divided it into settled districts and five Tribal
Agencies, including Malakand, Khyber, Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan. A
Political Agent was appointed for each agency to separate its Administration from that of the
settled districts of the Province. Lord Curzon’s, arrangement was to pull back British troops from
agencies and replace them with newly raised militia and avoid interference in Tribal Areas. He
created Khyber Rrifles, Kurram Militia, North and South Waziristan Militias. After the
independence of Pakistan, three new agencies were created i.e. Mohmand in 1951 Bajaur and
Orakzai in 1973. Whereas, Malakand was joined in NWFP in 1951 as a Division [ CITATION Kha13
\l 1033 ].
The FATA extending over 27220 sq. km along the Pak Afghan border constitutes 3.4 per cent of
Pakistan’s total area. This mountainous land is inhabited by a majority of the Pakhtun
population. It is surrounded by the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the North and East, the
province of Balochistan in the South, the province of Punjab in the South-East and in the West
by the State of Afghanistan.1 It is thus connected in the North with the district of Lower Dir of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, whereas in the East with the districts of Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Karak,
Kohat, LakkiMarwat, Malakand, Nowshera, Charsadda and Peshawar. In the South-East, FATA
is physically linked with the district of Dera Ghazi Khan in the Punjab province, while in the
South it joins the districts of Zhob and Musa Khel of Balochistan province.2 Pak-Afghan border,
also known as the Durand Line, lies to the West of FATA. EX FATA consisted of seven political
agencies and six tribal pockets called ‘Frontier Regions’. The political agencies were, Bajaur,
Khyber, Kurram, Mohmand, North Waziristan, Orakzai and South Waziristan Agency. Whereas
Frontier Regions were in the Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, LakkiMarwat, Peshawar and
Tank districts. With a minor exception of Orakzai Agency, rest of the political agencies have
common border with Afghanistan[ CITATION Ull13 \l 1033 ].

EX FATA had a peculiar geographic location along Pakistan-Afghanistan border with a porous
border, unique social structure, complex administrative set up and transnational links with
Afghanistan. Due to prolong state neglect and isolation from the mainstream FATA faces sever
administrative and governance issues. Keeping in view the chaotic situation in this region the
successive central governments initiated different reform packages to solve the law and order
issues and to bring FATA into the mainstream. Implementation of these reforms initiatives
remained a stumbling block in the way of changing the fate and status of FATA [ CITATION
Sae16 \l 1033 ].

Population of Federal Areas has grown by fifty seven per cent over the past nineteen years
although the fact that most inhabitants have migrated to settled areas because of military
operations against militants in the region.
According to the 2017 census the population of Fata stands at five million as compared to 3.2m
of the 1998 census.
Administratively, FATA was divided into two categories i.e ‘protected areas’ and ‘non-protected
areas’. The former was directly governed by the central government via its political appointees
called Political Agents (now political agent is replaced with deputy commissioner) while the
latter was administered Indirectly by the local tribes. Being a federal and at times provincially
appointed official, the Political Agent closely watches the administration of the concerned
political agency with maximum power and executive authority in hand. He would exercises a
blend of executive, judicial and revenue powers and also maintain law and order situation and
suppresses crimes and criminal activities in the tribal agency. Keeping all these responsibilities
intact, he was supported by Khassadars, Levies (tribal militias) and paramilitary forces that work
under military command.[ CITATION Alt15 \l 1033 ]

The British Raj's approach towards the tribal region was mix of influence, force, bribery and
armed intervention. The British managed local customs and power focuses on three pillers: The
Frontier Crimes Regulation 1901 (or FCR), the political agent and tribal elders or maliks. During
Mohammad Ali Jinnah's visit to the NWFP in April 1948, he expressed a desire to not interfere
with tribal self-governance in FATA but have the option to incorporate the region into Pakistan.
After the creation of Pakistan, the government retained the colonial administrative and legal
structures in the region.
The Frontier Crimes Regulation Act (or FCR) is a set of civil and criminal laws initially
instituted in the FATA region in 1901. It sought to typify elements of Pashtunwali Pashtun tribal
code including key features, for example, the Pashtun tribal jirga (chamber of elders) system and
rewaj (custom). The key functions of the FCR was the upkeep of peace just as well as the
resolution of conflicts and disputes within a tribe. It permitted the tribes a specific level of self-
governance, accompanied by federal oversight and control.

FCR is, however, not known for being just or fair. Numerous sections of the FCR contain
provisions that infringe upon the rights of the tribal people, denying them equal treatment in
matter relating with civil and judicial rights. Under FCR, residents lack the basic rights that other
Pakistanis enjoy: appeal, wakeel (lawyer) and daleel (argument), i.e. the right to appeal your
conviction, the right to legal representation and the right to present proof to argue your case.
section 22-23 allows for collective punishment against an offender's whole faimily, clan or
village, in case of crime committed by one individual. The government similarly has the power
to seize any private property according to its own discretion.

The reason for the Pashtun jirga system is to determine clashes and diputes that may emerge
between individuals from a clan or between clans. Under such a system, the leaders and maliks
determine guilt or innocence of an individual blamed for carrying out a wrongdoing. The
wrongdoers are punished or sentenced based on the findings and reference of rewaj. A jirga's
decision is common and regulatory.

The FCR allows for a political agent (in agencies) or deputy commissioners (in frontier region)
to head the local administration of each FATA agency or frontier region. The political agent
(PA) is a senior civil bureaucrat who serves as chief executive of agency, and discharges a mix
of executive, judicial and administrative functions. The PA awards tribal elders the status of a
malik and has the power to withdraw, suspend or cancel said status if he/she deems necessary.
While the PA is expected to act on the advice and recommendations of the council of elders or
the tribal jirga, any final decision rest with the PA and not the jirga. This makes the PA an all-
power federal agent who is supported by khassadars (guards), tribal militias and paramilitary
forces that work under the control of the military. A PA, refers cases, appoints the jirga, preside
over the trial and grants punishment without the possibility of any review by a court of law.
(SHAH, JUNE 2018)