The Fata Areas

Sher Alam Shinwari

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), enjoying a chequered history and a strategically distinct position, are located in a narrow belt which runs along the Pak-Afghan border. This border, known as the Durand Line was named after Sir Mortimer Durand who surveyed and established this division in 1890.

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are spread over 27,220 sq kms - 2.6 per cent of Pakistan's total area. The population of FATA, according to the 1981 census, was 2.197 million. FATA has been divided administratively into seven political units: Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, North and South Waziristan, and four Frontier Regions (FR): Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, and D.I. Khan, the last one being further divided into FR D.I. Khan and FR Tank. Likewise FR Bannu has been reconstituted into FR Bannu and FR Lakki.

The administrative set-up of Khyber, Khurram, North and South Waziristan dates back to the time of British rule, while that of the other three agencies - Mohmand, Orakzai and Bajaur - and FRs was established after Independence in 1947.

Geographically, however, FATA can be divided into three parts, the northern, central and southern regions. The northern region comprises Bajaur and Mohmand which lie between the Swat and Kabul rivers. The central region comprises Khyber, Khurram and Orakzai agencies, and the FRs of Peshawar and Kohat. The southern region includes North and South Waziristan and the FRs of D.I. Khan, Bannu, Tank and Lakki.

Under Article 247 of the Constitution, FATA comes under the executive authority of the Federation. This area is composed of 11 major tribes and several sub-tribes such as Utman Khel, Tarkan, Mohmand, Safi, Afridi, Orakzai, Turi, Bangash, Dawar, Shelmani, Shinwari, Mulagori, Parachinar, Masozai, Saidgai, Mehsud, Waziris, Bhittani Kharasin, Gurbaz, Ustrana, Utmanzai, Ahmadzai and Shirani. The people of this area are largely Muslims, dotted with a very small population of Sikhs and Hindus. The language of all the tribes is Pashto, with softer dialects spoken in the south and harsher in the north.

The major rivers that traverse through this area include the Kurram, Gomal Tochi, Swat and Kabul rivers. Apart from the Khyber Pass, other major passes in the high and harsh mountains of FATA include Nawa, Peiwar, Kotal Tochi and Gomal. The climatic conditions vary slightly from area to area, but generally it is very hot in summers and very cold in winters.

The areas constituting FATA have played an important role in the history of the subcontinent. The harsh and steep mountainous land interspersed with many passes, Khyber being the famous of all, has over the centuries been an easy gateway to invaders - Aryans, Turks, Mughals, White Huns, Durranis, Sythians, Tartars, Sassanians, Mongols, Seljuks and also Persians and Greeks. The British, realizing its strategic importance, demarcated this area as the buffer zone between the Indian Empire and Russia, against the threat of Tsarist expansion. This was done as part of Lord Curzon's 'Forward Policy'.

One of the earlier references to this area and its people dates back to the invasion by Alexander the Great circa 323 B.C. in which a tribe called 'Apurtae' was said to have inhabited the hills of the present day Khyber Agency. The change of name to the existing 'Apredai' in local dialect makes it very easy to understand the connection. The autonomous status of FATA was accepted by Pakistan on its independence through the famous 'Instrument of Accession' signed by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah at the Bannu Tribal Jirga in January 1948. The same was enshrined in all the constitutions of Pakistan.

Administratively, FATA enjoys a unique position whereby it is governed at the grassroots level through tribal representatives known as Maliks and Lungi Holders. There are a total of 3,616 Maliks and 3,441 Lungi Holders in FATA and FRs. A Malik/Lungi Holder is recognised by the government as a person commanding most authority and influence in his tribe, and is responsible for the maintenance of his respective area.

There is also the institution of Khassadars (local police) which bears the responsibility of maintaining law and order in the tribal area. The law and order situation has always been much better in FATA as compared to other areas because of a tight self-defence mechanism inherent among the tribes.

FATA is governed through the Frontier Crimes Regulations, the notorious black law introduced by the British in 1901. However, the jirga is the cornerstone of the tribal system. A jirga is a group of a few elders, mostly uneducated, who sit together and solve problems in accordance with the tribal customs and traditions in as short a time as possible. This is in sharp contrast to the slack judicial system enforced in the rest of the country. This quick delivery of justice has convinced the tribals of the famous dictum 'Justice delayed is justice denied'. The tribes elect eight members to the National Assembly and eight to the Senate of Pakistan. Previously this was done indirectly, now it is carried out directly through adult franchise.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the local economy. However, FATA is deficit in food supply and has to rely on NWFP and the rest of Pakistan for its food requirements. Only 6.5 per cent of the area is cultivated with low cropping intensity and low yields. Livestock play a very important role in the local subsistence pattern but do not constitute an adequate substitute for cereals. The major crops are wheat, maize, barely, rice, rapeseed, peanuts, peaches, apricots, pears, apples, walnuts and vegetables, with the cropping pattern varying from region to region.

So far 19 minerals have been identified in all the agencies. A large portion of the tribal population is engaged in the transport business and a considerable number is working abroad. FATA falls far behind the rest of the country in almost all socio-economic comparisons. The economy is predominantly agrarian, but the marginal land allows only subsistence agriculture. The backwardness of FATA was recognized in the 6th Five Year Plan, in which it was declared as the least developed are of Pakistan.

The area's potential can be productively exploited with an improved access for development purposes. The mineral resources, including gemstones, provide opportunity for commercial exploitation. The land between the major rivers can produce rich forests and pastures. The passes running through the mountains of FATA can be used as overland trade routes to Central Asia, western Asia, Middle East and Europe. Not the least, the earning capacity of the local hardworking people of FATA can be enhanced by providing proper training. Some of the prominent figures produced by this area are Faqir Eppi, Ajab Khan Afridi, Baba-i-Pashto Ghazal Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari and Shahid Afridi.

Literacy rate in FATA is 18.09 per cent among men, and a miserable 0.79 among women. The extremely low standards of education and health have made the lives of these people difficult. This strategically important but neglected part of the country needs the immediate attention of the government, and the problems of the tribal population need to be properly addressed.