Pakistan’s Pashtun Reservation

Along the country’s northwest border, remnants of an oppressive colonial era.

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


news stories often reference Pakistan’s “lawless” region along the Afghan border; less often reported is the fact that Islamabad treats its federally administered tribal areas (fata)—that Taliban/Al Qaeda safe haven—as a vast reservation. Wary of Pashtun nationalism, the government clings to a 108-year-old law defining fata as a separate legal entity, where Pakistani political parties can’t operate and national laws don’t apply unless the president says so explicitly. Its residents have no right to a lawyer in Pakistan’s courts, nor can they present material evidence or cross-examine witnesses; those convicted cannot appeal. Meanwhile, the president’s reps to the area can punish an entire tribe for crimes committed on its territory. “Some of the Pashtuns feel like they are a colony of Pakistan,” notes Boston University Afghanistan scholar Thomas Barfield. “They’re not full citizens, and the Frontier Crimes Regulation Act gives the Pakistani government the right to burn down villages, to ban trade…It’s fairly draconian. And it comes directly out of British colonial rule.”

US SPENT $5.8 BILLION IN FATA ON:

Spending on Fata

Separate and Unequal

  • fata population: 3.1 million
  • Income per capita: $250
  • Living in poverty: 60%
  • Literacy rate: 17%
    (Male: 29% Female: 3%)


Source: Government Accountability Office

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate