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This paper discusses the former colonial governance system based on special set of laws known as Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) in the erstwhile FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas, present-day Newly Merged Tribal Districts). The main purpose of the research is to provide an argument that the colonial governance structure was not the only cause for the widespread militancy in South Waziristan, part of the Newly Merged District. From in-depth interviews with different stakeholders and literature review, it is found out that the FCR with all its inherent faults was deemed successful in the administration of the North West Frontier and it was not responsible for the militancy in the tribal district of South Waziristan. Thus, the paper analyzes the old governance system prior to the spillover of militants and it reaches to the conclusion that the FCR proved to be an effective tool for the political administration of the border area of South Waziristan in both the colonial and post-colonial periods. The study emphases that mismanagement, corruption and incompetency of bureaucracy has led to the weakening of FCR, traditional institutions of dispute resolution and the indigenous leadership model thereby creating leadership vacuum which was in turn filled by the militants. The study has employed ethnographic based data collection techniques to reach the findings that old administrative structure is not responsible for the chaos and militancy in South Waziristan.

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This paper explores Pakistan and Russia building relations at the backdrop of New Cold War in the South Asia. It argues and justifies that competing and rival groups in the present international system are forcing states to build new alliances. Hence, Pakistan’s new collaborative strategy of allying itself with Russia is due to several political and economic developments amongst its immediate neighbors in the region. While Russia, a former super power is trying to revive its role in the region is also looking for new partners with converging interests to deal with its security issues at home. Both states can benefit from the new partnership if they properly use their strength and capabilities in the region. The article also argues that how certain changes are forcing both Pakistan and Russia to revisit their foreign policies, thus indicating a beginning of the “New Cold War” in the South Asia.

With these regulations, the colonial administration consolidated the long-term basis of their power and institutionalised an oppressive administrative-judicial system. For this purpose they also engaged local elites and customs. The administrative-judicial system introduced on the Northwestern border was different from the criminal and civil laws introduced elsewhere in British India. In 1947, when British colonial governance ended and the tribal areas became part of Pakistan, the oppressive colonial system of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) continued. It is still in force to the present day. In this article, I discuss the control structure of the administrative-judicial system that was imposed through these crime regulations in the FATA. I argue that these regulations are against fundamental rights prescribed in Pakistan’s Constitution of 1973 and the UN Human Rights Charter. I also highlight the plight of tribal people suffering politically, socially, and economically due to these undemocratic and discriminatory regulations, which are unduly unjustified and defended by a group of people with vested interests.