In early 2017, hundreds of Pashtun tribesmen gathered in Dera Ismail Khan under
the banner of the organization FATA Siyasi Ittehad (FATA Political Coalition) to protest the
continued enforcement of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), the colonial-era law that still
governs Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Under the archaic FCR, an
innocent individual can be imprisoned for the crimes of their kin, the government can displace
entire villages without compensation, explanation, or warning, and individuals can languish
behind bars for up to three years without any charges being filed.
