RECENTLY elections were held in the formally Federally Administered Tribal Areas as the result of 25th Amendment to the Constitution through which Fata has becomes a part of mainstream Pakistan.

For decades, the Fata region was run by Draconian British laws and the people suffered.

This scenario reminds me of a short play by Sadat Hassan Manto called The New Constitution in which the protagonist Ustad Mangu was of the view that the promulgation of the Government of India Act 1935 would enable the people of the subcontinent to choose their representatives, and these representatives would fulfill the dreams of the poor people. They would no longer remain subject of the British and all the injustices would go away.

Unfortunately, the dreams and wishes of the poor Mangu remained unfulfilled.

However, this election is a victory for democracy.

Jawad Ali

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2019