Abstract
Federally Administered Tribal Areas are integral parts of the state of Pakistan. The north western borderland of Pakistan along with Durand Line, consisting of seven political agencies and six frontier regions, is known as Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). After partition, the state of Pakistan while keeping intact the colonial legacy continued the special status of these areas. FATA as a political administration is an arrangement for the exigencies and requirement of the Grand Game. It did serve the Empire and the post-colonial structures with its defensive utility. It served to play its role in defence of British India and proved to be a strong bulwark against the Russian expansionism towards warm waters. It also played its role in the Afghan war and in the post-war scenario. It had its role in the post-9/11 regional situation which culminated into the American invasion of Afghanistan. But the post-invasion consolidation in Afghanistan has created a new situation due to which the overall context of the Grand Game has experienced radical changes that has changed the whole perspective of regional politics. It seems that American presence in Afghanistan has given birth to a new centre of power that may have different ramification for the old colonial structures like FATA
