As part of its efforts for peace and development in the volatile tribal areas, FATA Research Centre (FRC) has been holding regular seminars on various issues the people of the area are facing. The title of March seminar was “FCR Amendments: A way forward or hurdle for Peace and Development in FATA”. The seminar was attended by 30 participants. The invitees included lawyers, tribal elders, civil society representatives, political analysts, journalists, academicians and students. The purpose of the seminar was to promote better understanding of this complex issue and highlight the conditions in which FCR Amendments could produce better results for people of FATA.
The objective of the seminar was to understand the amendments and their impact on peace and development in FATA. The speakers reflected on their merits, demerits and way forward.
Under Article 1 of the Constitution, the tribal areas are part of Pakistan and the fundamental rights provided therein are applicable to Fata. However, through Article 247, the superior courts have been barred from exercising jurisdiction in Fata. Thus there is no judicial forum available for enforcement of the fundamental rights. It also provides that no Act of Parliament applies to FATA, unless the President of Pakistan consents as only he is authorized to amend laws and promulgate ordinances for the tribal areas. The elected representatives thus have no say in administration of FATA nor are they able to legislate for their constituencies.
On August 12, 2011, President Asif Ali Zardari announced a FATA Reforms package in which the Frontier Crimes Regulation (Amendment) Regulation 2011 was included. The seminar produced a useful debate on the issue and pinpointed the hurdles to overcome and work towards peace and development in FATA.
Seminar Report(FCR Amendments: A way forward or hurdle …)
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