Shahida Aman

University of Peshawar—Pakistan

“Colonial Institutions and the Present Transformation in the FATA, Pakistan”

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan (FATA) straddling the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan have long been contested, disputed and played upon by different regional and international powers. The geographical space of the FATA as well as its special political and constitutional status, a creation of the British Colonial policy of border control, was however, continued by the state of Pakistan in post 1947 period. The colonial administration created the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) and the institutions of Political Agent’s Office and the Sarkari Jirgah as well as that of Malikship and masharan, and through them they regulated the affairs of the tribal areas. These institutions are however undergoing significant transformations as a result of two processes: conflict and militancy; and state introduced reforms. The state of Pakistan is making slow inroads into the FATA, mostly through political, legal and structural reforms. These reforms include: the 1996 introduction of Universal Adult Franchise in the FATA; the 2009 reforms in the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR); the 2011 extension of the Political Parties Act to the FATA; and the proposed introduction of local government bodies at grassroots level in the FATA and extension of constitutional status to the tribal belt. The physical intervention of security forces is another facet of such intervention. The conflict dynamics of the borderland assumed a new more nuanced face with the emergence of the post 9/11 militant ideological movements. This religio-political movement (the Talibans) with its roots in the Afghan Jihad of 1980s not only challenged peace and security in the border spaces, but also embroiled the region in a new wave of extremist and violent radicalism. This paper attempts to explore the transformations in the colonial created institutions in the FATA as a result of the above-mentioned processes.  It is imperative that FATA’s future status needs to be investigated in the light of the transformations that are taking place in its governance institutions.

Bio

Dr. Shahida Aman is currently working as Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Peshawar, Pakistan. Her PhD research thesis was entitled, ‘State Failure and State Building in Post Conflict Societies: A Case Study of Afghanistan.’ She has several publications to her credit. She is also running and supervising two research projects at the moment sponsored by international and national donor agencies. Her research interests include, Failed States, State Building in Post-Conflict Societies, Afghanistan, Government and Politics in Pakistan, Peace, Governance and Conflict in the Pak-Afghan Region, Youth and Radicalization in Pakistan, Governance and Conflict in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, Conflict Transformation and Conflict Resolution. She can be reached at shahida_aman@upesh.edu.pk.