From TheBestLinks.com
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are areas of Pakistan outside any of the four provinces, comprising a region of some 27,220 km² (10,507 mi²). Neighbouring regions are: Afghanistan to the west, North-West Frontier to the north, Punjab to the east and Balochistan to the south. The total population of the FATA was estimated in 1998 to comprise about 3,138,000 people.
The region is only nominally controlled by the central government of Pakistan. The mainly Pashtun tribes that inhabit the areas are fiercely independent, and battles have broken out in the past between the tribes and the Pakistani government. It is believed by some that Osama bin Laden is hiding with some sympathetic tribes in the FATA, but the validity of this is unknown. It certainly appears that Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters have a presence in the region, as indicated by heavy fighting between militants and the Pakistani Army in South Waziristan in March 2004.
The economy of the FATA is chiefly pastoral, with some agriculture practiced in the region's few fertile valleys. Historically it used to be a major centre for opium production. Although that has been significantly suppressed by the Pakistani government, opium smuggling from Afghanistan continues to be a problem.
The FATA consists of five distinct areas: Khyber, Kurram, Malakand, Mohmand and Waziristan. The chief towns are Miram Shah, Razmak and Wana.
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