The threat of agitation by JamiatUlema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F) leaders, which, while on the surface seems to be out of concerns for an inclusionary decision making for Fata reforms, is in fact a part of the struggle to replace the current setup with an ‘Islamic system.’ The Fata reforms, in the pipelines at present, aim to extend the regular system of government to the Fata region, which, to this day, is governed under the anachronistic extension of the colonial era government. And while there is a noticeable absence of any representation of the people of Fata in the Fata Reforms Committee — the committee, as the name suggests, charged with the work of finalising work on the Fata reforms — its work should not be shrugged aside due to that reason. This is because the absence of representation of the people of Fata in this committee was, reportedly, by design since tribal elders, the supposed representatives of Fata, lack unity and do not consider each other equal. At one hand, this attitude towards the people of Fata is reminiscent of the condescension with which Fata has been treated by the state over the years. However, there are exigencies at play here, which necessitate the mainstreaming of Fata in as little time as possible, primarily because the success of military operation Zarb-e-Azb hinges on it.
In any case, the tribal leaders of Fata are hardly representative of the people living there. The continued existence of the Malik (tribal elders) system is itself an anachronism that needs to be done away with. How the voices of the old order resist change can be seen by the result of the two jirgas (a meeting of the tribal elders) conducted by the Fata reforms committee before its formulation of the final report. Unsurprisingly, the one involving the tribal elders voted against any radical change of the status, instead choosing only mild reform. But the jirga including lawyers, journalists, traders and students unanimously voted for the merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. And that is the point of contention of the JUI-F. It does not want to see Fata getting merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The change in Fata has given it an opening to lobby for its own interpretation of an ‘Islamic system’ to be imposed there.
