Elections in Ex-FATA districts for 16 PA seats

Elections in the ex-FATA districts would be held today, where people of the region would cast ballots to elect for the first time 16 lawmakers on the general seats of the provincial assembly. They will raise their voice in the assembly for the development of region neglected in the last seven decades. The election of lawmakers fielded by the parties would bring them under the respective party’s discipline and hopefully curb the practice of floor crossing as a result of horse-trading. The previous independently elected tribal legislators were under no such discipline, and it was no secret that they changed their loyalty to support the ruling party in return for certain favors. On July 25, 2018, the voters in ex-Fata had voted for the 12 seats of the national assembly along with rest of Pakistan. Though dates haven’t been announced yet, local bodies’ polls may be held in August 2019.
Getting to vote thrice in a year or so is rare in Pakistan, but the tribal people got this opportunity due to the merger of Fata with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The merger was done under an act of parliament in May 2018, just at the time when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was completing its five-year term and the caretaker government was being installed to hold the general election. Under the 25th constitutional amendment, the merged districts of Fata were given representation for the first time in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and the election for the 16 general seats and five reserved seats, including four for women and one for the minorities was to be held within a year of the July ballot. This is a big democratic change considering the fact that the inhabitants of Fata finally got the right to vote under the principle of universal adult franchise in 1997.
However, it remains to be seen how far the increased representation for the people of the merged districts in the elected democratic forums would empower them and serve their long-neglected interests. The voters in these remote and under-developed tribal areas, which have the lowest socio-economic indicators in Pakistan, have been generally unhappy with the performance of their parliamentarians and senators, who in turn complained they were powerless in presence of the all-powerful bureaucrats. Anyway, Election Commission of Pakistan has requested for deployment of army in provincial elections so that there is no coercion by the powerful groups. It has to be mentioned that it was due to the operations by military and sacrifices of its personnel that there is peace in the region; people could continue their business activities and live without fear and trepidation.
The merger was proposed that in order to sustain the successes achieved by the military, law enforcement agencies and political administrations, legal and security reforms were essential. Importantly, it was recommended that the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the high court be extended to the tribal areas by amending Article 247 and other relevant laws replacing the FCR. In May 2018, after passage of the FATA-KP merger bill, political parties could reach the voters, circulate their manifestos and create political awareness among the residents. The political leaders of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were allowed to join political parties with the extension of political parties order in 2011 for the first time in its history. Had they been part of mainstream politics, it would not have been possible for the extremists’ outfits to aid or abet foreign militants to create problems for Pakistan.