Moong Qabail (We the Tribe)
Moong Qabail is part of CRSS media advocacy and sensitization campaign on Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), aiming for the provision of better human rights in FATA, and its implications for the people of the embattled province. The project started in October 2013 and will continue till September 2014. The project involves two pronged interventions including seminars and media advocacy through radio programs. Focal cities for the seminars are Bannu, Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar with the tribal elders, intelligentsia, journalists, lawyers and civil society. The media advocacy component via radio waves endeavors to encourage the focal audiences/listeners to raise their voice for democratic rights forcefully and help them realize the power of collective campaigning for fundamental rights as equal citizens of Pakistan. The endeavors aim to nudge FATA residents to collectively pressurize policy-makers and representatives in the governance and parliamentary structures and increase the locals– ownership of the campaign for equal rights, legal-administrative reforms and promoting the political reforms discourse at the federal level. The purpose of these interventions is to create space and lobby for accountability mechanism for FATA officials, sensitize officials of FATA Secretariat, FATA Parliamentarians, and Government Agencies to stop opposing the abolition of old legal-administrative structures and help bringing in reforms.
CRSS launches unique TV debate on FATA – Hum Bhi Pakistan (We are also Pakistan)
In May 2014, the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) produced the first ever series of shows on the Past, Present and Future of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to be aired on National Television channels. This is a big leap forward in CRSS– drive for inclusive democracy and fundamental rights. Never before did FATA come under such focused and sustained debate involving leading stakeholders from within FATA as well as those representing Pakistan mainstream political parties. The participants in the shows included as many as 40 parliamentarians, rights– activists, analysts and academia as guest speakers and 60 male and female students from different regions of FATA. The main focus of the related debate, discussions and questions was on whether the people of FATA want to be part of Pakistan ruled by the Constitution of Pakistan, whether they want Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) repealed or amended the role of FATA parliamentarians, the authoritarian Political Agent, development of FATA and empowerment of women among other issues. It is definitely a first in the history of FATA political rights– advocacy that its problems, concerns and future prospects were debated in a series of TV shows.