The National Assembly passed the Fata reforms bill last week. Henceforth, the jurisdiction of the Peshawar High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan has been finally extended to the tribal areas putting an end to a decades old grievance.

The people of the tribal areas have welcomed the legislation as a commendable step that should have been taken decades ago.

The decision will go a long way toward bringing FATA at par with the rest of the country.

The Frontier Crimes Regulations — a legacy of the Raj — is buried forever with this watershed resolution. The next step is mainstreaming Fata with the rest of Pakistan on a war footing.

This calls for evolutionary, result-oriented and pragmatic steps which will allow the smooth transition of the tribal areas into becoming a prosperous and peaceful part of the country.

The people of these long-neglected areas thank their compatriots for extending fundamental rights to Fata as enjoyed by all other Pakistanis.

Naqeeb Hussain

Parachinar

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2018