Police said all the suspected terrorists were family members including Qaseerullah, Rohullah, Irfanullah and Asaullah while the woman, Munthazera, was their mother.

“We raided the house following intelligence reports as these terrorists were involved in attacks on Arbab Ayub Jan, ex-minister for agriculture and ANP’s candidate for NA-4, during his election campaign,” said an official of the Chamkani police station, adding the family was active in the area and allegedly involved in many more bomb blasts.

He said a bomb weighing around eight kilogrammes was recovered from the house and they also found a bag containing seven kilogrammes of high-intensity explosives besides ball bearings and other items used in the production of improvised explosive devices.

Police termed the raid a major success, claiming they were searching for the apprehended suspects for the past couple of months.

Police van attacked

Four police officials were injured when an improvised explosive device planted by unidentified militants along a road in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda district exploded near a police van on Friday evening.

SHO of Saro Kallay police, Gul Shaid said the police van was on routine patrol at around 7:45pm when a bomb hidden inside a heap of garbage exploded in Pir Qilla area, destroying the vehicle and injuring four police personnel.

The SHO added heavy contingents of police rushed to the site following the incident and launched a search operation while the injured were rushed to the tehsil hospital in Shabqadar. After being administered with first aid, the injured – identified as Amjid, Ihsanullah, Zubair Khan and Khadim – were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2013.

SHABQADAR: Pakistan spends seven times more on military expenditure than on education, according to a 2012 Unesco report. It ranks 113 out of 120 countries in the Education Development Index.

It then comes as no surprise rural areas get the short end of the stick. Basic provisions such as rooms to sit in, clean water to drink and running water in toilets are not a given; students do not expect these luxuries.

An official in the education department in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa estimates around 15% of the population of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) is literate. Possibly, less than 5% of females in the tribal belt are educated.

The situation in Fata is further compounded by militancy – schools in Fata remain under constant threat. According to a news report, over 100 schools have been destroyed by militants in Mohmand Agency.

Mohmand Agency is administratively divided into eight subdivisions.

Three of these subdivisions namely, Khwaizai, Baizai and Abmar have no middle or high school for both male and female students. The bleak outcome of having few or no secondary institutions is summed up by an Annual Status of Education Report (Aser) 2012 finding – ‘For every twenty children in class one, only three are in class ten’ in Fata.

The subdivisions which do have schools suffer from a lack of basic facilities.

Around 60 educational institutes have been destroyed in Safi subdivision during militant insurgencies. Over half of the schools in Safi have been closed since June 2008. In 2011, the education department announced these schools had been reopened; however, it was only on paper.

Requesting anonymity, a high school teacher from Safi told The Express Tribune he had been receiving his salary regularly since the school ‘reopened.’

Schools in Qandhari and Gurbaz (areas in Safi) are not functioning, even if they are open, he shares. Teachers from Qandhari have been reposted to other schools but in Gurbaz, schools remain closed and teaching staff remain absent out of fear – Gurbaz is an area with the highest number of schools destroyed.

Hasan Khan, a resident of Qandharo, Safi says children have to go to a school in Haleemzai tehsil. Hasan did not leave his area for safer grounds, even in the midst of militancy. However, Hasan now wants to relocate for the sake of his children’s education.

The school in Haleemzai is in a dilapidated state. Malik Rashid Khan of Kadi Ghalanai told The Express Tribune the school was established in 1962 and upgraded to a middle school in 1972.

“It has not been repaired since because one needs to bribe government officials or have strong political support for getting repairs done,” claims Rashid.

Officials from the education department visited the school and promised to repair it but the promise was yet to be fulfilled, he shares.

M Nazir, a teacher at this school, originally hails from Mardan and has been residing in the school’s office building. He complains of lack of basic facilities like electricity, clean drinking water, security, etc.

Students go to a nearby seminary to get water while lack of electricity in the summer was another problem for them, complains Nazir.

Tariq Khan, a student of class eight confirms this; they go to the seminary daily to fetch water for the teacher. Students have no such ‘perks’.

Grade-six student Abdullah says he comes to school on foot from Halki Gandao which is around four kilometres away. “When I get to school there is no water to drink, no fans to make it less hot.”

Summer holidays start from mid-June and end in August, however many students of the schools have already gone on leave due to lack of facilities as temperatures start to rise.

When contacted, officials in Mohmand maintained 24 out of 113 destroyed schools in the agency are undergoing re-construction.

FATA Education Department estimates over 600 schools have been destroyed in Fata by militants. The government is working towards rebuilding them with the help of the United Arab Emirates.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2013.

In the past, members of Parliament from Fata formed their own group in a bid to fulfil their demands. During the last government, they formed their own parliamentary group led by Munir Orakzai comprising ministers, parliamentary secretaries and chairmen of standing committees.

Other members of the group included K-P Governor Shaukatullah, Hamidullah Jan Afridi and Senator Abbas Afridi.

After the extension of the Political Parties Act to the tribal areas, candidates of PML-N, JUI-F and PTI also emerged successful in the general elections. NA-42 was won by JUI-F backed Jamal Mehsud, NA-44 by PML-N’s Shahabuddin, while NA-47 by PTI’s Jamal Nasir. However, elections in some areas of Kurram, North Waziristan and Khyber agencies were postponed or their results were put on hold over rigging allegations.

Of the six victorious independents, the candidate from NA-39 North Waziristan joined PML-N after he was not convinced by the independent group. The rest include experienced candidates former federal minister GG Jamal and ex-MNA Bilal Rehman, while Governor Shaukatullah Khan’s father Haji Bismillah Khan, Jawad Hussain Tori and Al Hajj Shah Jee Gul Afridi have no parliamentary experience.

These candidates held a meeting with PML-N leader in Islamabad where they were invited to join the party. However, they were still weighing their options and are expected to respond today.

Afridi, a candidate from Khyber Agency, told The Express Tribune they had agreed in principle not to join PML-N and are intending to remain independent. “We are waiting for the results of two Fata constituencies and if they are announced then our group will have more power to pressurise the government on any decisions regarding the tribal belt,” he added.

Senator Rehman, brother of Bilal Rehman who succeeded for the second term from Mohmand, also supported the formation of the group to secure funds and other benefits from the government. “Our status will weaken if we decide to join any party; we will be bound to obey specific party rules and regulations,” he added.

He claimed one of the members joined hands with PML-N because he has no know-how. “Some of the new elected members don’t realise the chronic issues of this war-torn region.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2013.

The candidates who have won from Fata include Haji Bismillah Khan from NA-43, father of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shaukatullah Khan, and former MNA from Mohmand Agency Bilal Rehman. Both have been accused of rigging in the polls with the help of the local political administration.

A source told The Express Tribune the group met Shaukatullah at the Governor House on Tuesday and a meeting was also scheduled in Islamabad at 9pm on the same day to decide on a strategy.

When contacted, Shahid Gul Afridi, winning candidate from NA-45 Khyber Agency, confirmed a group will be formed, adding a representative of the group would talk to political parties on behalf of all the members.

When asked if the candidates would join any party, Afridi said they will announce their affiliations after the meeting. “All winners from Fata including Bismillah Khan, Bilal Rehman, GG Jamal Orakzai, Nazeer Khan and Sajid Tori will first deliberate on making their own group and then decide if they want to join a party or remain independent,” he added.

On previous occasions, the formation of any such parliamentary groups of Fata lawmakers have not been fruitful in bringing change in the war-affected region.

According to a political observer, in the past such groups have only worked to fulfill their own personal interests and have become ministers, parliamentary secretaries or chairpersons of standing committees.

Fata has 12 NA seats; elections could only be held in 11 constituencies and were postponed in one because of dismal law and order.

Out of the eleven NA seats polled in Fata, NA-44 has been won by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), NA-47 by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), while Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has been successful in NA-42. Independent candidates have remained successful in the remaining Fata constituencies indicating that political parties have failed to gain footing in the tribal area.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2013.

SHABQADAR: Hundreds marched from lower subdivision Ekka Ghund to Ghallanai upper subdivision led by 20 candidates who had lost the general elections from NA-36 Mohmand Agency.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Zarkhan Safi, Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Muhammad Saeed Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf dissident Rahem Shah, and independents Nisar Mohmand and Shahsawar Khan were some of the candidates present.

Once the protest reached Ghallanai, candidates addressed the crowd. According to Nisar Mohmand, 80 of his voters who were arrested by members of the Aman Lashkar, their vehicles impounded, are still missing.

He further alleged a large number of voters were jailed, while thousands were not allowed to vote in Dawizai. According to Nisar, ‘angels’ came and voted in the women’s polling station for one candidate only.

Once again the establishment wants to promote a ‘deaf’ candidate who cannot stand up for the tribals, claimed Muhammad Saeed Khan of the JI. Which is why, he alleged, the establishment rigged elections for former MNA Bilal Rehman.

The JI candidate maintained Malik Khushal was killed on Election Day for supporting another candidate and the political administration failed to protect him or bring his killers to justice.

Polling started late in the afternoon in Ekka Ghund, Safi and Ambar, was halted midway and voters sent back home. Khushal added their votes were cast by the polling staff, and some votes were added the day after elections.

Raheem Shah and Shahsawar informed the audience a legal team has been put together which will file an appeal with the tribunal with videos and other proof in their favour. Daily protests will continue across the agency according to the candidates.

The list of allegations continued and the irate candidates demanded re-elections in the constituency under the army’s watch.

If the CEC did not acquiesce, Governor House will turn into Tahrir Square, promised the candidates.

When contacted, Mohmand Agency Political Agent Dr Ambar Khan rejected all allegations and suggested “instead of blocking roads with protests,” candidates much choose the legal way.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2013.

The first woman to be elected on a general seat from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) made no efforts to mince her words as she lashed out at her stepson while talking to journalists at her residence in Wali Bagh, Charsadda, claiming she has come to “save” her husband and Bacha Khan’s party.

Naseem blamed Asfandyar and Afrasiab Khattak for the ANP’s dismal performance in the general elections, claiming the latter was banned by Wali Khan who knew “he (Khattak) would destroy the party’s structure.”

“The time has now come to protect Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s party in the province,” said Naseem, indicating she will lead the party from its home turf, Wali Bagh, if the “wrongdoers are kicked out.”

Naseem claimed ANP had changed its manifesto and constitution for one man – Asfandyar Wali Khan – and added the ANP leader had spent nothing in the way of development work. In another attempt to draw attention to the party leadership’s inefficacy, Naseem said the Taliban should be invited to the negotiation table in order to restore peace in K-P.

Naseem said she was living in the province when Asfandyar’s ANP was in power, while the latter himself moved to Islamabad following a suicide attack on him in 2008.

Back in action

Begum Naseem led the party – then known as the National Awami Party (NAP) – in the mid-70s when Wali Khan was imprisoned by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. She was also an active partner of the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) and was said to be among those, like Asghar Khan, who supported Zia-ul-Haq’s regime. Some even claimed Bacha Khan disliked her and that her presence was owed to her husband’s influence.

Apart from winning a general seat in the K-P Assembly and being the first woman to do so in 1977, she was elected as an MPA in 1988, 1990 and 1993.

Once considered to be the most powerful woman in the ANP, Begum Naseem served as the party’s provincial president for a long time before she was asked to leave the party in 2007. Following a defeat in the 2002 elections by the alliance of religious parties under the banner of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Begum faced similar criticism over what she now blames Asfandyar for.

Following her ouster, Khattak was made the party’s provincial president and Begum Naseem reluctantly left the political stage.

ANP’s reaction

When contacted, ANP’s provincial general secretary Arbab Tahir Khan snubbed Naseem’s criticism of Asfandyar and defended the party chief saying he was forced out of his hometown by a targeted attack which claimed the lives of four party workers.

He questioned how it was possible for Asfandyar to return to Charsadda, adding the party faced 31 attacks in the run-up to the elections. He stressed the party stood united under Asfandyar and neither the manifesto nor the constitution was changed to suit any individual.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2013.

In 2002, the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) gave the Awami National Party (ANP) a tough time in an alliance with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), earning three provincial assembly (PK) seats and one National Assembly (NA) seat. Meanwhile, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) clinched one NA and two PK seats.

At that time, JUI-F leader Maulana Gohar Shah, who was elected an MNA from NA-7, had also won against ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan. With Shah unable to contest the constituency in 2008, the ANP gained its lost foothold when Asfandyar won against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Naseer Muhammad Khan.

The ANP also won three PK and one NA seat in those polls with QWP chief Aftab Ahmad Sherpao succeeding on one NA and three PK seats. Later on, Babar Ali of the QWP won another PK seat in the by-elections.

2013 elections

This time round, Sherpao formed an alliance with the JUI-F on one NA and three PK seats, leaving three PK and another NA seat open. The alliance made a clean sweep on one NA and three PK seats while Maulana Gohar Shah returned to claim victory in NA-7.

Two PK seats were won by the QWP. Sherpao also managed to win one NA and two PK seats himself, bringing his party’s tally to four provincial assembly and one National Assembly seat in Charsadda.

According to local ANP leader Khalid Khan, the party spent over Rs10 billion in establishing Bacha Khan University and completing various health and communication network projects in ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan’s hometown. Yet, when a journalist put forth a question asking why the ANP was whitewashed in Charsadda, Sartaj Khan of the Charsadda Union of Journalists said those who were angered over the course of the party’s five-year tenure did not vote in Asfandyar’s favour. “The party was also not able to campaign as others did, and the remaining damage was inflicted by the two-party seat adjustment [between JUI-F and QWP],” he added.

The journalist posing the question was also told that in view of Nato’s withdrawal in 2014, Pukhtun representatives in parliament were imperative. However, those who want to defeat the ANP have managed to do so, added Sartaj

Another journalist, Khaista Rehman, said there were reports of rigging at NA-7 polling stations where the results were announced on time. Aftab Sherpao’s result is still not clear and no official result had been issued till Sunday evening, he added.

Aman Sher, an ANP student leader at Peshawar University maintained Pukhtuns always went one way, whether that meant voting for the MMA in the past or the PTI in the present. Sher drew a sharp distinction between the Pukhtuns and the people of Sindh and Punjab who, according to him, always voted for the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz respectively.

On the other hand, an official in Charsadda’s district office wishing anonymity said despite the ANP claiming it had carried out development projects, few people had benefited in the region as things remained largely the same. The official also mentioned corruption prevented funds from being distributed among the population.

ANP former law minister and PK-18 losing candidate Arshad Abdullah blamed the establishment for the party’s defeat. According to him, the ANP was restricted in its campaign while others were given a free hand.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2013.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN / GHALLANAI: Women from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) exercised their right to vote, many of them for the first time, on Saturday.

Female voters of all ages were seen in large numbers in NA-36, Mohmand Agency, in what was the first time in the conservative tribal belt. But people were not so lucky in North Waziristan’s NA-40, and in NA-41 and NA-42 South Waziristan, where many women were prohibited from voting.

People thronged to polling stations in Ekka Ghund, Khowazai and Bazai in Mohmand Agency’s headquarters Ghallanai, early Saturday morning. Salma, a housewife told The Express Tribune, she faced no restrictions from her family members against voting.

Eighty-year-old Rubina said it was heartening to see so many women voters from the constituency and expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made.

Meanwhile, Zarghoona, who was at the station with her granddaughter, said it was a good omen that tribal women were voting.

The presiding officer at Ekka Ghund polling station Ramdad Khan also confirmed the high number of female voters from the constituency.

Returning Officer Mohmand, Dr Ambar Ali, expressed satisfaction over the fact that the first elections in Fata were conducted with transparency where women were a decisive force.

“Nearly 64 out of 107 polling stations in the agency were set up for women and they participated fully without any hesitation,” Ali said.

Barring participation

Meanwhile, reports of women being prevented from voting were received from North and South Waziristan, mainly because of threats from the Taliban and tribal customs.

Announcements via loudspeakers were made in NA-40 North Waziristan on behalf of Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s shura telling women to refrain from stepping out of their homes to vote. A few days prior to elections, pamphlets were distributed across North Waziristan warning women not to vote and claiming it was against Shariah.

Abdul Majid, a resident of Mir Ali, said his wife was not voting “because she was uneducated,” adding he was against her voting as well.

On the other hand, a completely different situation emerged in NA-41 South Waziristan. While women were not allowed to leave their homes, men collected their computerised identity cards and then took them to polling stations for voting for the candidate of their own choice.

Meanwhile, for the NA-42 South Waziristan constituency separate polling stations were established for men and women in Gomal University, DI Khan and in Zam Public School, Tank for internally displaced Mehsud tribesmen. A large number of women arrived at the stations to vote, however, soon after voting began, at least 25 men entered the polling station in University Public School, opened the ballot boxes and tore up the voting sheets.

South Waziristan’s Assistant Political Officer Hamidullah Khattak confirmed the incident, adding he would take action and find a way to resolve the matter of wasted votes.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2013.

GHALLANAI: Brisk polling by women voters continued in Mohmand Agency where they are expected to cross the 10% mark in NA 36 constituency.

According to details, for the first time women of all ages in large number came to cast their votes in conservative tribal society.

Voters rush was seen in polling stations in Ekka Ghund, Khowazai, Bazai and headquarters of the agency from morning.

Talking to the women voters Salma, a housewife said that she faced no restrictions from her family remembers in terms of refraining her from casting vote.

Another Robina, 80, said that it is encouraging that females in large number have come to cast vote and expressed satisfaction over the arrangements in the polling station for the voters.

Zarghoona, along with her granddaughter said that it her right to use the right to franchise, saying it is a good omen that females are voting. “In the past election females were barred from polling however in this election many females are casting their votes,” she added.

Presiding office Ramdad Khan at Ekka Ghund polling station also confirmed the high number of female voters in the constituency.

It was also noted that family members are contesting as rivals from various parts in the election race. Meanwhile, in another incident an official of political administration said that head of peace lashkar was gunned down allegedly over pressuring voters for casting votes in favour of his candidates in Khowazai at around 10:30am.

Political Agent Riaz Masood told The Express Tribune that the explosion occurred around 3:50pm when NA-38 candidate Munir Orakzai was addressing party activists inside a mosque-cum-seminary in the Sawak area of the agency. NA-37 candidate Maulana Ainud Din Shakir was also present during the occasion. Neither candidate was hurt in the attack.

The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack, but the  group’s spokesman was quick to point out that the attack on Orakzai was not due to his affiliation with the JUI-F.

“We attacked him because of the crimes he committed against Islam and Mujahideen,” Ehsanullah Ehsan said in a statement.

“He (Orakzai) handed over dozens of Arab Mujahideen to America, who are now suffering in Guantanamo Bay. He worked with full zeal with the ANP, MQM and PPP for the last five years in shedding the blood of innocent tribesmen,” Ehsan said, adding that the Taliban would never forgive him.

He also said that Hafiz Dolat Khan, alias Hafiz Ahmed, has been appointed the TTP chief for Kurram Agency by the Taliban Shura, and added that the attack on Orakzai was his first ‘achievement’.

Despite the claim of responsibility, Orakzai claimed that he had no enmity with the TTP and insisted that they would never target him. “It cannot be the action of the Taliban,” he insisted, while addressing a press conference after the blast on Monday.

Condemning the blast, he said that no one could scare him and claimed that people were jealous of the fact that he would win from his constituency.

Political Agent Riaz Masood said a heavy contingent of Kurram levies rushed to the site of the blast and cordoned off the area. However, the nature of the blast could not be ascertained.

The Assistant Political Agent of the Central Kurram Muhammad Naeem said that while some eyewitnesses reported that it was a suicide blast, others said it was a remote-controlled explosion,

Dr Noor Ali at the Agency Headquarters Hospital (AHQ) in Parachinar said that three of the injured victims died during treatment, while seven are critically injured and have been referred to Peshawar.

Hospital sources later confirmed that at least 23 people were killed and over 45 were injured.

Meanwhile, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Engineer Shaukatullah took serious notice of the blast.

“There is a need to ensure foolproof security arrangements both for the public and the election candidates on any such occasion,” the governor said.

Taking innocent lives, he said, is an act of incredible cruelty and those involved do not have any values, religious or otherwise, and deserve to be condemned by all.

Election unrest in Balochistan

Sporadic election related violence continued Balochistan as well. National Party (NP) president Dr Abdul Malik Baloch’s convoy was attacked with hand grenades in the Turbat area of Kech district on Monday, injuring his nephew Dr Yasin Baloch.

Turbat police official Riaz Ahmed told The Express Tribune that the incident occurred when Dr Abdul Malik and Yasin were returning from a procession.

Though both escaped unhurt, Dr Yasin was injured when his security guards fired at the assailants.

Meanwhile, four schools designated as polling stations were destroyed by rocket fire in Barkhan and Mastung districts on Monday.

In a separate incident, independent candidate Mir Iqbal Zehri escaped a hand grenade attack unhurt in the Sargaz area of Mastung Monday night.

PPP election office blown up in Charsadda

The election campaign office of Pakistan Peoples Party candidates from PK-22 and NA-8 was destroyed when a bomb planted by unidentified militants exploded in the Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda district on Monday.

Asadullah, the candidate of PPP from PK-22 told The Express Tribune that they had arranged a gathering of party activists for a corner meeting in the office when the blast occurred.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2013.