Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan

Last updated
Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 2018
State emblem of Pakistan.svg
Parliament of Pakistan
  • An Act further to amend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
PassedIn National Assembly : May 24, 2018
In Senate : May 25, 2018
In Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa : May 27, 2018
Assented toMay 31, 2018
Legislative history
Bill titleThe Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Bill, 2018
Bill citation 31st Amendment Bill
Introduced by Chaudhry Mehmood Bashir (law minister)
Status: In force

The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan was passed by the Parliament of Pakistan and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in May 2018. Under the amendment, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) are to be merged with the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). [1]

Contents

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and PATA before merger Ggfg - Copy - Copy.png
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and PATA before merger

Background

FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province) NWFP FATA.svg
FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province)
Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) and KPK before Twenty-fifth Amendment Provincially Administered Tribal Areas-1.png
Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) and KPK before Twenty-fifth Amendment

Since the independence of Pakistan from the United Kingdom in 1947, the seven districts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas were governed by political officers appointed by the President of Pakistan. The PA had near absolute power over their tribal districts. [2]

Efforts to merge FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa date back decades. [3] Former President Pervez Musharraf considered the integration of FATA with the rest of the country by way of a version of the Local Governance Ordinance, 2001 with an extended geographic scope, as well as through the Political Parties Act, 2002. [4]

On December 14, 2016, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly adopted a resolution in favour of merging FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the goal of infrastructure rehabilitation and reconstruction. [5]

Recommendations to bring FATA on par to the rest of the country were approved by the federal cabinet on March 2, 2017, and on December 26, 2017, the cabinet approved the formation of the National Implementation Committee on FATA Reforms, including the Minister of Defence and Commander 11 Corps. [5]

Spearheaded by Sartaj Aziz, the committee's comprehensive work and tour of FATA expedited the process of merger. The Aziz-led committe's findings were in favour of a complete merger, rather than piecemeal mainstreaming. The drafting of the bill itself was based in the Ministry of Law, involving Attorney-General Ashtar Ausaf Ali and Asad Rahim Khan.

The Supreme Court and High Court (Extension of Jurisdiction to Federally Administered Tribal Areas) Act, 2018, assented to by President Mamnoon Hussain on April 18, 2018, extended the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Peshawar High Court to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. [6] [7]

Details

The Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 2018, seeks to amend Article 1 of the Constitution, where the country's territory is defined and FATA is mentioned as a territory separate from the other four provinces. It also amends Articles 51 and 59, which concern the allocation of seats in national and provincial assemblies for each of the federating administrative units. Articles 106, 155, and 246 are amended by the act, and 247 is repealed. [8]

The amendment effectively abolishes the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). A US$865 million package will be allocated to a 10-year plan aimed at the rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructure in the tribal areas alongside changes to the constitution. [2]

The amendment will reduce the Senate from 104 to 96 members, and the National Assembly from 342 to 336 members. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will have 145 seats (115 general, 26 reserved for women, and 4 reserved for minorities); FATA will have 21 seats within the KP Assembly (16 general, 4 reserved for women, and 1 reserved for non-Muslims). The incumbent senators for FATA will be allowed to complete their six-year terms. After they have all retired by 2024, there will be no separate representation of FATA within the Senate. [8]

Legislative procedure

National Assembly

The amendment was passed in the National Assembly on May 24, 2018, with a 229-1 vote in favour. Jamiat Ulema-e Islam (F) (JUI-F) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) lawmakers walked out from the assembly before the vote. Dawar Kundi of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was the sole dissenting voter. During the session, Imran Khan, the chief of PTI, addressed the house, congratulating parliament on uniting despite party differences and bringing up rigging, money laundering, and the Panama Papers. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi spoke afterwards, criticising Khan for bring up unrelated issues in his speech. [8]

Senate

On May 25, 2018, the amendment was passed by the Senate with a 71-5 vote in favour. The five voters against were members of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party. A walkout staged by members of the party was held. [9]

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly

Since Article 239(4) of the Constitution requires constitutional amendments affecting geographic boundaries to be approved by the assembly of the affected province, the bill for the Twenty-fifth Amendment must be passed by the KP assembly with a two-thirds vote before its term expiry on May 28, 2018. [8]

On 27 May 2018, Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan was passed with majority in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. Total of 83 votes was needed for the bill to be approved. The vote was 87 in favour of the amendment for the FATA/K-P merger. [1]

Presidential assent

On May 28, 2018, President Mamnoon Hussain signed the FATA Interim Governance Regulation, 2018, abolishing the Frontier Crimes Regulation and outlining how FATA will be governed within a two-year time frame as the region is merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The FATA Interim Governance Regulation has been signed under Article 247 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which stands to be repealed by the Thirty-first Amendment to the Constitution. [10] Sources privy to a series of meetings since the passage of the bill in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly have stated that the repeal of Article 247 of the Constitution wasn't included in the proposed amendment until the last minute, and that the FATA Interim Governance Regulation will have "little legal standing" after changes are made to the constitution. The abolition of Article 247 could also introduce difficulty upholding the Action in Aid of Civil Power, the Nizam-e-Adal Regulation, the policing authority of federal and provincial levies, and tax amnesty provided to FATA. [11]

On May 29, 2018, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani signed and forwarded the constitutional bill to President Mamnoon Hussain. Having been received by the Senate from the Ministry of Law and Justice after its passage in the Khyber Pakhuntkhwa Assembly, the bill was sent for the President's signature. [12] Presidential assent was given on May 31. [13]

Criticism

The government of Afghanistan criticised the merger, stating that the merger would be a contravention of the Treaty of Rawalpindi between Afghanistan and British India. [14] Pakistan responded to the government of Afghanistan's position by rejecting the accusation that the merger was a "one-sided" decision. [15]

Dr. Farooq Sattar of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) stated that his party supports the bill for "political unity," but his party would still prefer that FATA be made a separate province rather than be merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He called for the formation of 19 provinces, referencing bills MQM had previously put forth proposing the creation of South Punjab, Hazara, and FATA provinces. Sattar demanded a referendum on whether FATA should be made a new province instead of being merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. [8]

Jamiat Ulema-e Islam (F) activists protested against the merger at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, attempting to stop lawmakers from entering the building. [16]

Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party leader Abdul Qahar Khan Wadan defended his party's position against the merger and stated that the people of FATA want their own province, chief minister, governor, and public service commission. [8]

Leaders of the FATA Grand Alliance (FGA) called the merger "forced and unjustifiable". [17]

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The administrative units of Pakistan comprise four provinces, one federal territory, and two disputed territories: the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan; the Islamabad Capital Territory; and the administrative territories of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan. As part of the Kashmir conflict with neighbouring India, Pakistan has also claimed sovereignty over the Indian-controlled territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh since the First Kashmir War of 1947–1948. It also has a territorial dispute with India over Junagadh, but has never exercised administrative authority over either regions. All of Pakistan's provinces and territories are subdivided into divisions, which are further subdivided into districts, and then tehsils, which are again further subdivided into union councils.

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The Provincially Administered Tribal Area (PATA) was the former administrative subdivision of Pakistan designated in the Article 246(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan. No Act of Provincial Assembly can be applied to PATA whereas the Governor of the respective province has a mandate parallel to the authority President of Pakistan has over Federally Administered Tribal Areas. In 2018, a Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan merged PATA, as well as FATA into full control of the Khyber-Paktunkhwa government, thus the PATA designation has no legal standing in the future of Khyber-Paktunkhwa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frontier Crimes Regulation</span> Special set of laws in British India and Pakistan (1867–2018)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dera Ismail Khan Division</span> Administrative division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federally Administered Tribal Areas</span> Former semi-autonomous region in north-western Pakistan (1947–2018)

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas, commonly known as FATA, was a semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan that existed from 1947 until being merged with the neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018 through the Twenty-fifth amendment to the constitution of Pakistan. It consisted of seven tribal agencies (districts) and six frontier regions, and were directly governed by the federal government through a special set of laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulations.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barang Tehsil</span> Pakistani administrative subdivision

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mamund Tehsil</span> Pakistani administrative subdivision

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bar Chamarkand Tehsil</span> Pakistani administrative subdivision

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The FATA Interim Governance Regulation, 2018 was a law signed by the President of Pakistan on May 28, 2018, which replaces the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) and outline how the Federally Administered Tribal Areas will be governed "within a timeframe of two years" as the region is merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through the passage of the Thirty-first Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan. An official described the regulation as a combination of the FCR and the rejected Tribal Areas Rewaj Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election</span>

Provincial elections were held in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's constituencies belonging to areas previously known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on 20 July 2019. After the election, the new members joined the already elected members from the rest of the province to complete the formation of 11th Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Pakistani general election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">PK-67 Mohmand-I</span>

PK-67 Mohmand-I is a constituency for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.It was created in 2018 after merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before 2019 elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PK-68 Mohmand-II</span>

PK-68 Mohmand-II is a constituency for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.It was created in 2018 after merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before 2019 elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PK-69 Khyber-I</span>

PK-69 Khyber-I is a constituency for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.It was created in 2018 after merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before 2019 elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PK-70 Khyber-II</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 Khan, Javed Aziz; Mahmood, Nisar (2018-05-28). "Fata-KP merger finalised". The News International . Pakistan. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  2. 1 2 Hashim, Asad (2018-05-24). "Pakistan parliament passes landmark tribal areas reform". Al Jazeera . Doha, Qatar: Al Jazeera Media Network . Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  3. ↑ Jamal, Umair (2018-05-30). "Understanding the Realpolitik Behind Pakistan's FATA-KP Provincial Merger". The Diplomat . Tokyo, Japan. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  4. ↑ Fair, C. Christine (2014). Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army's Way of War. Oxford University Press. p. 132. ISBN   9780199892709.
  5. 1 2 Chaudhry, Arshad Waheed (2018-05-15). "Govt to get 30th Amendment approved before NA term ends: sources". Geo TV . Pakistan. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  6. ↑ Guramani, Nadir (2018-01-12). "Bill extending PHC, SC jurisdiction to Fata passed by National Assembly". Dawn . Pakistan Herald Publications . Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  7. ↑ Shah, Waseem Ahmad (2018-04-23). "VIEW FROM THE COURTROOM: Extension of courts' jurisdiction to Fata still depends on govt". Dawn . Pakistan Herald Publications . Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wasim, Amir (2018-05-24). "National Assembly green-lights Fata-KP merger by passing 'historic' bill". Dawn . Pakistan Herald Publications . Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  9. ↑ Hussain, Danish; Ghauri, Irfan (2018-05-25). "Senate passes FATA-KP merger bill with 71-5 vote". The Express Tribune . Pakistan. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  10. ↑ Sirmed, Marvi (2018-05-29). "For FATA residents, the good news may be short-lived". Daily Times . Pakistan. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  11. ↑ Firdous, Iftikhar (2018-05-30). "FATA merger: K-P drags its feet on getting president's nod". The Express Tribune . Pakistan. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  12. ↑ "Bill on Fata merger sent to president". Dawn . Pakistan Herald Publications. 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  13. ↑ "President signs amendment bill, merging FATA with KP". Geo TV . Pakistan. 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  14. ↑ "Afghanistan Criticizes Pakistan's Unilabbba Group". TOLOnews . Kabul, Afghanistan.
  15. ↑ "Pakistan rejects Afghan concerns on FATA-KP merger". Arab News . Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 2018-05-27. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  16. ↑ Khattak, Sohail (2018-05-28). "Police break up JUI-F assembly siege". The Express Tribune . Pakistan. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  17. ↑ "Halt to Fata-KP merger threatened". Dawn . Pakistan Herald Publications. 2018-05-27. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
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