THE legal limbo and financial vacuum in the settled tribal districts, the region formerly known as Fata, has finally received much-needed attention from the relevant government quarters. A high-level meeting convened to address administrative, financial and legal issues in the settled tribal districts achieved a significant breakthrough when it was decided that the centre, Punjab and KP would contribute up to 3pc of their shares from the federal divisible pool for the immediate needs of the districts. While it remains to be seen how soon funds will start to flow to the districts, the decision ought to pave the way for a meaningful implementation of mainstreaming projects in the Fata region. Indeed, the fundamental constitutional, financial and administrative aspects have received insufficient attention by the state and the media, and there is a risk that the unresolved problems could lead to simmering discontent and alienation in a region that is still struggling to recover from the ravages of the decade-long militancy that was once rampant there.

Welcome as the contribution of Punjab is — and important as the efforts of the KP and federal governments are — the difficulties in upgrading a region that was ruled under anachronistic legal provisions and had some of the poorest socioeconomic indicators in the country can be attributed to two persistent problems in governance: the absence of sufficient resources, and a lack of careful planning. As with the vital 18th Amendment, the transition phase after the abolition of Fata was not adequately planned. The legal limbo in the region is also one step closer to resolution following a Supreme Court order last week that a six-month period be given for the introduction of a mainstream justice system in the districts, but that crisis too erupted because the interim governance ordinance for Fata was seemingly drafted in haste and without consulting constitutional experts. While the opposition of PML-N allies in the last parliament prevented the issue of reforms and mainstreaming to be taken up until the last days of the government, it was long known that a so-called mainstreaming project in Fata was imminent, even if the final status of Fata as a separate province or merged with KP was undecided. The Fata reforms commission recognised the importance of an orderly transition, but that realisation did not extend to those actually in charge of the transition.

Second, the problem of inadequate resources to address various projects of national importance will not go away until the state tackles the inadequacies in its revenue and tax strategies. Surely, no reasonable observer would argue that the settled tribal districts not receive a generous share of national resources, but then the state has to have a sustainable strategy of financing those needs. Otherwise, ad hoc desperate strategies will prevail.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2019