September 19, 2018: The National Security Workshop on the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (NSW-FATA) being held from September 10 -19, 2018, came to an end today. The workshop featured extensive discussions and presentations on the issues related to the merger of FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), especially with respect to the dynamics of national security in relation to the merger and the governance of the former tribal areas. The participants of the workshop included, inter alia, prominent tribal leaders from FATA.
Mr. Dilawar Khan had also spoken during the workshop on September 13 about the Afghan refugees in Pakistan, providing the attending FATA representatives—including politicians, journalists, civil society, students, and academicians—with an in-depth background into the history of their entry into Pakistan and the evolution of the administrative setup in relation to Afghan refugees. Mr. Khan had emphasized in his presentation that Pakistan did not have very many international legal obligations with respect to Afghan refugees, as it is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 protocol.
Founder CODE PAKISTAN shed light on several issues related to Afghan refugees in his presentation, including the decisions of the February 2017 Federal Cabinet meeting. Looking forward, Founder CODE PAKSISTAN’s presentation featured a discussion on the impact of Afghan refugees on national security, their contribution to national economy, and the level of international assistance for them in Pakistan.
On the final day of the workshop, the contribution of Founder CODE PAKISTAN to the workshop was acknowledged by Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Gen. Zubair Hayat, who gave Mr. Khan a certificate of appreciation in recognition of his contribution to the workshop. Other noted speakers in the NSW-FATA included Mr. Sartaj Aziz, Mr. Rahim Ullah Yusufzai, Mr. Ihsan Ghani, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Naeem Khalid Lodhi, and Dr. Ejaz Akram, with more to come in the following days.