CONSTITUTIONAL STATUS

(Tribal Areas- The unique semi-autonomous entity in Pakistan)

The tribal areas are enjoying their independent status since the Dynastic Era (550 B.C. to 1818 A.D.). These tribes are administering themselves free of any outside influence and have cultivated a distinct socio-juridical culture.

Under the British rule (1849-1947), the tribes resisted colonial subjugation and continued to administer themselves internally.

After the independence of Pakistan (1947), the tribes expressed their loyalty with Pakistan and eversince, a large part of the tribal areas are a federal entity in Pakistan all along the border with Afghanistan, stretching from the Bajaur Agency in the North to South Waziristan Agency in the south, called the "Federally Administered Tribal Areas" (FATA).

The present constitutional status of FATA is enshrined in Articles 246 and 247 of the 1973 constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, conferring continuity of status enjoyed during British rule. The constitution provides for a special mode of governance under tribal customs and traditions through a Political Agent, who acts as a representative of the federal and provincial governments. The unique status of the area confers three special privileges. Federal and provincial laws of Pakistan have to be specifically extended to the area under Presidential Order, the superior courts of the country have no jurisdiction and its independent status cannot be altered without the prior consent of the tribal "Jirga" (Council of Elders).