THE National Assembly passed the Fata reforms bill last week. Henceforth, the jurisdiction of the Peshawar High Courtand the Supreme Court of Pal(istan has been finally extended to the tribal areas putting an end to a decades old grievance.
The people of the tribal areas have welcomed the legislation as a commendable step that should have been taken decades ago.
The decision will go a long way toward bringing FATA at par with the rest of the country.
The Frontier Crimes Regulations a legacy of the Raj is buried forever with this watershed resolution. The next step is mainstreaming Fata with the rest of Pakistan on a war footing.
This calls for evolutionary, resultoriented and pragmatic steps which will allow the smooth transition of the tribal areas into becoming a prosperous and peacefulpart ofthe country.
The people of these long-neglected areas thank their compatriots for extending fundamental rights to Fata as enjoyed by all other Pakistanis.
