Agencies in NW Pakistan

[third eye]

One often reads of political units in Pakistan which are referred as Agency - eg Bajaur .

What are these ? India used to have a North East Frontier Agency ( NEFA) decades ago. now it is Arunachal Pradesh.

Are those in Pak admistered centrally ? If so why ?

It is a colonial legacy, and if it continues there must be a cogent reason for this. I am curious to know why.

Why are the ppl of these agencies not allowed to elect their leaders ? Correct me if I am wrong.

Looking for answers pls.

 

[Armstrong]

They are semi autonomous regions of Pakistan inhabited by the fiercely independent & yet loyal & proud Pashtun tribes who are represented in both the National Assembly & the Senate through their elected representatives (I think its 12 & 8 parliamentarians respectively). The administration of the region is under the control of a Federally appointed Political Agent on behalf of the President of Pakistan & the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan does not extend to these areas which are instead governed by the same Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) as coined by the British. And yes they are not a part of the Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa but are an autonomous territory of their own comprising parts of FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) & parts of PATA (Provincially......).

There is a movement gaining momentum to make FATA (possibly PATA as well) as another Province of Pakistan & give them the same political rights as enjoined by the Constitution of Pakistan for Provinces instead of the special arrangement that currently exists. Whether there would be a follow up on this or not or whether the political parties would play clean on this or not is another matter altogether.

P.S they do elect their own leaders (but it came late in the '90s I suppose) & the political agents (along with the assistant political agents) are there in lie of the bureaucracy that operates in the rest of Pakistan ! They are essentially civil servants appointed by the Federal Government.

P.P.S They have their own militias too with irregulars recruited from the same Pashtun Tribes (they are warrior race after all with almost every household armed to the teeth) to maintain law & order in addition to most of the FC (Frontier Corp) comprising of recruits mainly from these same tribes. The FC being the main paramilitary force fighting the TTP.

P.P.P.S I suggest that you ask Icarus, Taimi Bhai or Hyperion for more info about these areas as they're either from there or they've served there.

 

[third eye]

Shouldnt they be merged into the mainstream like other states ?

 

[Armstrong]

Shouldnt they be merged into the mainstream like other states ?

Thats the part I was alluding to when I referred to 'there is a movement gaining momentum to make them a province'. Whether they get there or not is another question altogether. There is also a movement calling for the removal of the FCR & the extension of the Supreme Court of Pakistan's jurisdiction to these areas. However in Pakistan, the politicians are more into as dirty politics as it can be instead of creating provinces anew. I'd rather see all of Pakistan's current Provinces dissolved & they being replaced by every administrative division of Pakistan being raised to a Provincial Level with maximum possible powers being vested in the local governments. A Federal Republic as it was envisioned to be.

 

[Jango]

There is a movement gaining momentum to make FATA (possibly PATA as well) as another Province of Pakistan & give them the same political rights as enjoined by the Constitution of Pakistan for Provinces instead of the special arrangement that currently exists.

This would be the best way forward. To bring them into the mainstream.

 

[third eye]

Its completely an internal issue of Pak , I found this system of Agents to be too colonial.

Hence my post No 1

Besides Bajour which are the other agencies ?

 

[Armstrong]

Its completely an internal issue of Pak , I found this system of Agents to be too colonial.

Hence my post No 1

Besides Bajour which are the other agencies ?

Federally Administered Tribal Areas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Go through it !

 

[474474]

They are semi autonomous regions of Pakistan inhabited by the fiercely independent & yet loyal & proud Pashtun tribes who are represented in both the National Assembly & the Senate through their elected representatives (I think its 12 & 8 parliamentarians respectively). The administration of the region is under the control of a Federally appointed Political Agent on behalf of the President of Pakistan & the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan does not extend to these areas which are instead governed by the same Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) as coined by the British. And yes they are not a part of the Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa but are an autonomous territory of their own comprising parts of FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) & parts of PATA (Provincially......).

I conclude you have Stockholm syndrome. Period.

 

[Armstrong]

I conclude you have Stockholm syndrome. Period.

No more of a Peshawar via Bajaur syndrome !

P.S On a serious note why do you say that ?

 

[Icarus]

They are semi autonomous regions of Pakistan inhabited by the fiercely independent & yet loyal & proud Pashtun tribes who are represented in both the National Assembly & the Senate through their elected representatives (I think its 12 & 8 parliamentarians respectively). The administration of the region is under the control of a Federally appointed Political Agent on behalf of the President of Pakistan & the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan does not extend to these areas which are instead governed by the same Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) as coined by the British. And yes they are not a part of the Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa but are an autonomous territory of their own comprising parts of FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) & parts of PATA (Provincially......).

There is a movement gaining momentum to make FATA (possibly PATA as well) as another Province of Pakistan & give them the same political rights as enjoined by the Constitution of Pakistan for Provinces instead of the special arrangement that currently exists. Whether there would be a follow up on this or not or whether the political parties would play clean on this or not is another matter altogether.

P.S they do elect their own leaders (but it came late in the '90s I suppose) & the political agents (along with the assistant political agents) are there in lie of the bureaucracy that operates in the rest of Pakistan ! They are essentially civil servants appointed by the Federal Government.

P.P.S They have their own militias too with irregulars recruited from the same Pashtun Tribes (they are warrior race after all with almost every household armed to the teeth) to maintain law & order in addition to most of the FC (Frontier Corp) comprising of recruits mainly from these same tribes. The FC being the main paramilitary force fighting the TTP.

P.P.P.S I suggest that you ask Icarus, Taimi Bhai or Hyperion for more info about these areas as they're either from there or they've served there.

Ask Icarus? You've left nothing for me to answer! That's a very detailed and thoroughly comprehensive response, couldn't have answered it better myself.........

 

[VCheng]

They are semi autonomous regions of Pakistan inhabited by the fiercely independent & yet loyal & proud Pashtun tribes ................ the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan does not extend to these areas which are instead governed by the same Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) as coined by the British..................

I would regard that as a matter of shame for the State that over-a-century old British FCRs still rule over the Supreme Court of the country in the 21st century in these areas.

It is high time this is rectified.

 

[Icarus]

This would be the best way forward. To bring them into the mainstream.

The system under which the Agencies are governed is not compatible with the mainstream. The agencies are governed by the FCR which is basically a legal translation of 'Pukhtunwali', don't let any half-wit pseudo-intellectual tell you otherwise. The entire system is based on 'Collective Responsibility' with each tribe or sub-tribe acting as an independent body. All administrative decisions and legal decisions are made through a Jirga in which the council of 'Masharan' or elders discuss matters of interest and importance, then take a decision on the issue based on a mutual consensus. Each tribe or sub-tribe chooses their own 'Masharan' and they may be represented by one Mashar or a council of them. The Political Agent and Commander of the FC for the area are also granted Mashar status and thus they represent the centre in these Jirgas.

Any break from this system will lead to chaos in the entire region. To bring FATA into the mainstream, you first need to slowly and gradually introduce them to the national system, too sudden a change can cause the social fibre of the Tribal areas to fail entirely.

In my own belief, bringing the Tribal Areas into the mainstream is not such a bright idea. The Tribal Areas are almost crime-free, except for the Tribal Wars that may ignite from time to time. Another great thing is that everyone has access to the stakeholders in the administration. In such a situation, it may not be such a bright idea to introduce an inefficient and corruption-ridden system of local governance as run in the provinces to an area that is free from them to begin with. First, we should draft an effective system of local govt. Pervez Musharraf's system was a good start but that too later went on to be abused by the influential and the powerful.

 

[VCheng]

..............

Any break from this system will lead to chaos in the entire region. To bring FATA into the mainstream, you first need to slowly and gradually introduce them to the national system, too sudden a change can cause the social fibre of the Tribal areas to fail entirely.

In my own belief, bringing the Tribal Areas into the mainstream is not such a bright idea. .............

Are you advocating that it is okay for the Supreme Court not to be the supreme legal authority with jurisdiction over all the territory of Pakistan? What other modern country tolerates that?

65 years have gone by and no steps to even begin effecting a change in this shameful state of affairs have been taken.

 

[Icarus]

Are you advocating that it is okay for the Supreme Court not to be the supreme legal authority with jurisdiction over all the territory of Pakistan? What other modern country tolerates that?

65 years have gone by and no steps to even begin effecting a change in this shameful state of affairs has been done.

I do think that the areas are better off out of the Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court because the people and their representatives are responsible for themselves and the system has been running that way for centuries. However, I also say that if it is to be changed it must be done so at a very gradual pace.

 

[VCheng]

I do think that the areas are better off out of the Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court because the people and their representatives are responsible for themselves and the system has been running that way for centuries. However, I also say that if it is to be changed it must be done so at a very gradual pace.

But how can one have a Supreme Court that is not supreme? Amongst the many considerations, given the present circumstances, it reinforces the international perception that these areas are lawless breeding grounds for terrorism, and thus fair game for attacks since laws of the State of Pakistan do not apply there.