Who we are
Qabail Union of Journalists – Tribal Districts (QUJ) is a registered organization of working journalists from the tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the region formerly known as FATA. It was registered in December 2025 with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies & Societies, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, under the Societies Registration Act (XXI of 1860), and its registration has been renewed for the year ending 31 December 2026. QUJ has 103 registered members.
Our resolve is to protect the rights and welfare of journalists from the tribal districts and to promote positive journalism.
Background
QUJ is a separate organization from the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ). It has its own constitution, its own membership and its own elected cabinet, and under its constitution all of its funds, property and assets belong collectively to its members. The background below explains the conditions that led journalists of the tribal districts to form QUJ.
For nearly thirty years, journalists of the tribal areas were organized under the Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ), which was founded in FATA and later set up units in each tribal agency. Its central cabinet was at first selected, and elections were introduced as the number of tribal journalists grew.
Over time, differences and groupings divided the union, and for several years two parallel central cabinets existed. In 2007, journalists from the Peshawar Press Club drafted a constitution and restarted elections, but internal disputes continued. When these disputes reached the courts, it emerged that TUJ was registered as a trust in the name of one person: a charitable institution, not a union belonging to its members. Journalistic activities under TUJ then ceased completely, and tribal journalists were left confined to their own areas and press clubs.
In the years that followed, the tribal areas were freed from the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) and merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Throughout this period, tribal journalists had no organization of their own to carry the voice of the tribal people to higher forums.
Qabail Union of Journalists was formed later, as a new and separate organization, to fill that gap: to unite journalists from all tribal districts on a democratic and constitutional basis, with a unit in each district, and to work for their rights, safety and professional growth.
Our constitution
QUJ is run under its own constitution. The officers and the Executive Council are elected every year: elections are held between 25 and 31 December, and the new body takes charge on 1 January. Accounts are audited every year and presented to the General Body before the elections.