HISTORICALLY, Pakistan’s tribal areas have long stood at the crossroads of governance, culture, and geopolitics. These areas have navigated the complexities of autonomy, marginalisation, and integration within the broader national framework.

From 1877 to 1947, during the British Raj, they were a focal point due to their unique administrative structure and greater autonomy. The British Indian government aimed to understand tribal cultures and adapt its response accordingly, yet these areas made headlines for their challenges. In both the pre- and post-partition eras, these regions were managed through special legal and administrative frameworks. However, aside from the 25th Amendment, governance was mostly security-focused, leading to isolation and weak governance, which affected their administrative and sociopolitical health.

Post-independence, the tribal areas experienced constitutional changes, with the 1956 constitution designating them as ‘Special Areas’ and the 1962 constitution limiting the applicability of central and provincial laws, enforceable only by presidential or gubernatorial directive. This exclusion maintained the areas’ administrative and legal isolation. The 1973 Constitution allowed 37,000 maliks........

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