Abstract:
Historically, the present-day northwestern Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan have been
ruled under the 1901 Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR).
After partition of British India in 1947, the tribal areas
acceded to Pakistan; and the latter continued with the same
colonial era isolationist special governance system. The Cold
War politics and post-9/11 Afghan war turned this area into
an ideological and operational base for domestic, regional
and global terrorism and militancy. This precarious security
environment compelled Pakistan to carry out
counterinsurgency military operations. Lately, to achieve
enduring peace, the debate on FATA‟s merger has taken on
momentum resulting in milestone constitutional
developments. This article is an attempt to explore how this
significant tribal region evolved over time into a strategic
vulnerability for Pakistan leading to a sociopolitical
movement for its integration, with a focus on the advantages
and challenges of this objective
