Based On A Review Of Multiple Sources, Including The Household Survey Of The FATA Vulnerability Analysis.
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 CONTEXT
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are one of the mostunderdeveloped regions of Pakistan. A protracted crisis since 2008 saw millions of individuals displaced. The situation worsened with the emergence of militancy on both of Afghan-Pakistan border. By April 2015, 5.2 million people had been displaced from FATA, as reported by the FATA Disaster Management Authority. However, with increasing improvement in security in FATA in 2015, large scale returns of Internally Displaced Persons to their areas of origin commenced.
Returns continue to FATA, with 438,657 families facilitated to return by the Government and humanitarian partners since 2010. Although the Government initially planned for all people to return by the end of 2016, conditions within FATA, including difficulties returning during winter, meant that 32,469 families currently remain displaced and are yet to return. There is also evidence of a substantial number of displaced people who are not registered for official assistance. The FATA Sustainable Return and Rehabilitation Strategy, initiated in 2015, planned for the return of displaced families to their areas of origin following the completion of security operations in five agencies. Returns were accompanied by short-term assistance for relocation, resettlement, revitalization of livelihoods, economy, and reconstruction of housing and infrastructure. Similarly, there was an attempt to coordinate the humanitarian development nexus through the “Operational Coordination Mechanism (OCM)” and ‘Thematic Working Groups’ in Peshawar, which evolved into the FATA Transition Task Force (FTTF), co-chaired by the Government.
On 2 March 2017, the Federal Cabinet adopted a historic package of FATA reforms. The most significant decision has been the mainstreaming and integration of FATA with KP within a transition period of five years. The 24-recommendations represents a new political compact for FATA and the border region, and an unprecedented extension of constitutional rights and governance structures to millions of the poorest people in Pakistan. The international partners and government are now developing a transition plan to link the ongoing humanitarian action and the growing development investment more closely together and to align both with the emerging government strategies for the long-term stabilization and development of the region.