Whenever I go to see a 'western', I am reminded of our own rugged frontier region with its macho, gun-toting men, rough and ready justice, and widespread poverty.

The difference, of course, is that while the mythical American Wild West has been transformed over the last century into a thriving component of the richest country in the world, time has stood still for much of Pakistan's tribal areas.

While it is true that the rest of the country is not exactly a shining example of material progress and intellectual enlightenment, compared to the backward areas that we inherited at Partition, there has been considerable development.

Remote villages have been electrified and connected by road; tens of thousands of schools have been opened; hundreds of universities and colleges have mushroomed across the country; and factories and farms are providing employment to millions.

OK, so the physical and social infrastructure is creaking under the weight of inefficiency and a barely checked population explosion. Political institutions have been battered by endless experimenting and military intervention. And contrary to the secular vision that Jinnah had for the state he created, Pakistan mistreats its minorities and women in the name of religion.

But even this dysfunctional state is a model of progress when compared to most of Pakistan's tribal areas. This stretch of territory between Afghanistan and British India was granted a large measure of autonomy (together with fixed bribes) by the Brits to buy peace among a turbulent and armed populace. It also served as a buffer between Afghanistan and the 'settled' areas of Balochistan and the North West-Frontier Province.

This autonomous status was confirmed by the new state of Pakistan as a price for ensuring the loyalty of these fractious tribals. This assumed special importance when Afghanistan rejected the Durand Line and claimed territory up to Attock.

But 55 years later, one would have assumed that this odd constitutional arrangement had outlived its utility, considering the problems it has caused for the rest of the country. For years, it has been a haven for kidnappers, gun-runners and drug-smugglers.

Darra has long been a major centre for the manufacture and sale of all kinds of weapons that find their way into the hands of criminals across the country. Poppy cultivation and heroin processing factories have enriched many tribal chiefs (some of whom are now in parliament). Bara is synonymous with all kinds of smuggling activities. Stolen cars and kidnap victims are routinely taken to these badlands as criminals can't be followed there by the police.

While Islamabad has long remained a silent spectator to this growing lawlessness, American pressure to step up the campaign against the Taliban and Al Qaeda has resulted in state intervention, even if it is temporary. Seventy thousand troops are now engaged in an attempt to drive the hostile elements across the border into the waiting arms of the American forces.

Adding his muscle and rhetoric to this campaign, President Musharraf recently addressed a group of tribal chieftains in Peshawar, and warned them of the repercussions of the failure of this drive.

Urging them to halt their support to the 'foreign elements' operating from South Waziristan, Musharraf informed the Jirga that Pakistan had been isolated and accused by the world community of spreading religious extremism and nuclear technology.

Never mind that the state has dabbled in both. At least the realization of our isolation is finally sinking into the military mind. However, it is the tribal areas' isolation from the rest of the country that has produced the odd result of a section of the population actively undermining state policy over Afghanistan.

The Taliban have long enjoyed the support and admiration of their Pakistani kinsmen in the Pakhtoon belt. Indeed, many of them have been trained and educated (I use the term very loosely here) in the madressahs established by religious parties all over Balochistan and the NWFP with government knowledge and approval.

This nexus has helped to explain our Afghan policy until 9/11 when this link became an embarrassment and forced Musharraf to execute his famous U-turn, which he did with admirable dexterity.

One argument the romantic supporters of the tribal system like Imran Khan often use is that the jirga system of justice is far better than the corrupt and inefficient judicial system operating in the rest of the country.

Thus, when tribal elders in the Orakzai Agency recently executed eight men for offences ranging from robbery to kidnapping, this is supposed to act as a deterrent to crime.

But as we have seen, crime has escalated in the tribal areas which are used as havens by crooks, usually with the connivance of the tribal elders who share in the profits.

Clearly, it is in the interests of the chiefs and notables of these areas to keep their people uneducated so they remain under their thumb. Women are subjugated in a way that would make the Taliban applaud. No constitutional rights are applicable, and the rule of law is a distant rumour. Despite electoral reforms, women simply are not permitted to vote.

Recently, we were informed that barbers in Wana in South Waziristan had been beaten up and threatened with death if they shaved the beards of their customers. With stone-age attitudes like these, it is small wonder that the population of this area is actively supporting the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

But over and above this escalating law and order problem, we need to think about the plight of those who are condemned to live in these prehistoric social conditions.

The state has a duty to uplift the people under its care, and not to abandon them to their self-serving leaders just because it would be inconvenient to change the status quo. The British adopted a policy aimed at giving them peace and quiet a century ago, but this does not mean it should not be discarded now.

Despite the presence of this archaic system for all 55 years of Pakistan's existence, no attempt has been made to seriously discuss and debate the future of the tribal areas. As long as they retain their autonomous status, they will serve as a hideout for criminals and a stronghold for the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Above all, nobody will invest in an area where the country's laws do not apply. Thus, the chiefs will prosper through criminal activities while the people will remain mired in grinding poverty.