By Javed Qazi, Karachi, Sindh

FATA is bleeding; its wound is going so deep in its existence that perhaps no rehabilitation can work out for them now. It is expanding to all over pakhtun area and to the Pakistan ; it is taking the subcontinent and whole the world along.

From hundreds of years they have lived that way, with their own laws, norms, jirgas and culture. From Alexander the great to Ghanghiz Khan, from Turks to Mughal those who conquered the world or the subcontinent could not conquered this place. There hasn’t been any sustainable empire or a rule on these people. For that matter the British Empire that conquered the wholeIndia but the Pushtoon belt.

These indigenous people compelled the British troops to stop and British made the treaty in 1890s, with Afghan King to administer for hundred years the areas they have got a hold of and the rest of all the Pakhtun belt shall remain part of Afghanistan, even the British empire administered FATA was free to live under their norms and laws (that treaty the British India made with the King of Afghanistan had expired also, hence the fate of Durand line or the north frontier is hanging in the middle). 

Sir Durand who demarcated the frontier under his supervision the north frontiers of India  were drawn by sitting on horse, so many hours and spending so many days on these mountains of FATA. One day he fallen from the horse his legs went broken and wounds couldn’t heal and he died after a year succumbing to those wounds. This is after the name of that gentleman the Durand line is known for.

Our Jinnah after the partition did not intervene in the norms of these people and led them live the way they wanted to and that is why it is known as FATA working under the law called FCR.  But that was for temporary period, as it was assumed that the democracy will get mature one day in Pakistan and thus these people will voluntarily accept the Pakistani laws. Unfortunately this country did not stand by the objectives it was made for. And thus never ever could the day come to make these clans merge into main steam pakhtuns of Pakistan and thus become subject to the Pakistani laws.

On north or south of Durand line all these pakhtuns are muslims. The great Bhacha Khan had great pain on the divide of Pakhtuns.

There anthropology or the national behavior is highly unique they take it as a passion to any thing they love. To their guns, wars, powder (narcotics) or any trade of smuggling they do, and to their religion. The proper word in Urdu is ‘Junoon” which can be precisely able to portray these people. 

The mess began when their religion was exploited. One day against the communism, and the next day against the US . It was entirely an important too for the trade they were busy with, that no law shall work here and thus trade of narcotics could easily be made moving all along. 

Today the whole world’s eyes are set on these lands which have given a refuge to Arab Nationalists, those who could not fight their struggle on their own lands. Perhaps somewhere down there was a problem in our perception also, way back in 90s we used to phrase it as “strategic depth”.

Somewhere there was problem the way this country went detracted from the welfare of the people and fallen into the doctrine of national security. And people of FATA became the greatest victim for there wasn’t any direct election or right of vote these people had. They were not given schools and health units. There wasn’t a general principle of proportionality of rule of lawwas working there at all: that obligation can only enforced when rights are given.

They were made to live under the highly primitive social contract of being clans and from that they generated their immunity, their survival of the fittest.

And now the owners of market economy/capitalism of which Karl Marx was a great critique. Of that rule of law Karl Marx was a great critic for it was not providing a social security to the working class. For it was exploiting the resources of small countries. One can argue that the journey of refining of the capitalism to market economy is of colonialism to the neo colonialism.

This is Pakistan which specifically fits to that notion. This is a country in which no one can form a government without having NOC from the US . It is not FATA that is the problem only; it is the very imperialist mindset in which the problem lies. In this country always the US has felt very comfortable in dealing with those who have usurped the power and thus have exploited the peoples rights and resources and thus had been the source of mis-governance and thus of the inflation, nepotism, poverty and hunger.

There is no solution in the short term ejecting the Islamic and arab religious extremist by doing hell of collateral damage as well and thus extending a reason as well to these people to make there roots in these people also. 

Let democracy in Pakistan prevail. Let us strength the bond of trust in them. Let our law enforcing agency do their job and for that the cooperation may be extended. It is not the world alone which is victim, it is Pakistan also as our President says, a victim of that.

Let every one have equal opportunities across the board across the world irrespective of cast creed and gender or religion. Only solution lies, in the long run, in creating a fair and just for all the mankind on earth.

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