FCR is an inhuman regulation of British imperialists

Action aid, Karwan-e-Qabial a news paper and SDP jointly organized a day long seminar in Islamabad under the title of reforms in FCR and its modalities which was largely attended by tribal political leaders, tribal journalists, students, lawyers and many others from tribal areas. The speakers irrespective of their affiliations stressed the need that it was a ripe time for the government to abolish Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) which had been introduced and imposed by the British Government in 1901 in the Balochistan, NWFP and The Tribal belt to suppress the freedom movement and the voices of the people for their basic human and political rights. This draconian law or regulation had been removed from the NWFP and Balochistan in the fifties and sixties, but unfortunately the tribesmen remained pressed under this law, which is still in practice.

The speakers on this occasion also demanded that a separate Tribal province be set up for the tribal people keeping in view their traditions, customs and particular culture. It was also demanded by the speakers that an elected tribal council should be established for the whole FATA, so that the elected representatives could think over the modalities for the new system in FATA according to the tribal norms and traditions. Majority of the attendants categorically discarded the view that FATA should be merged into the NWFP.Some of the speakers urged that by the time government should introduce some basic amendments in FCR to make it compatible with human rights and Islam. Federal Minister for environment Hamid Ullah Afridi suggested that after sustainable development in tribal areas, any change should be brought into FCR.He also informed the attendants that a committee had been formed to ponder over amendments in this century old system to give some relief to the miserable tribesmen.

The speakers of the seminar on FCR also made it crystal clear that they had no relation with terrorism or extremism, but they said that it was the establishment, which was blackmailing the unaware and backward tribal people for their own vested interests. They said that Tribal People were more patriot and Staunch Muslims and were the real Custodians of Pakistan and Islam. The speakers our rightly condemned the military action or operation in the tribal areas. It was also demanded from the government to create a system of check and balance in the tribal areas to check the wide spread corruption in FATA.The tribal people will never accept any change in FCR until and unless the tribesmen are taken into confidence in this regard, stressed the speakers. The violations of human right and the rights of the women folk also came under discussion and the speakers agreed that women also had equal rights as men, but the women should respect the strict veil culture of tribal areas. The speakers also flayed the negative role of the rulers ignoring the sustainable development in tribal areas. They also said that the government was not serious to carry out any mega projects in FATA for the durable development and prosperity of the tribesmen. Share in NFC Award and Budget were also the basic demands of the speakers.