Pakistan’s predicament

Letter November 22, 2014
As a result, the unfortunate thing has happened, the gap between state institutions and local inhabitants has widened

ISLAMABAD: An event — 9/11 — having a global impact, brought the war on terror to Afghanistan and subsequently to Pakistan. The war has, no doubt, global dimensions, but during the last decade, it has also had a considerable domestic footprint in Pakistan. From the point of view of the rest of the world, there seems to be only one dominant narrative of the conflict going on in the northwestern parts of Pakistan: that of Talibanisation and counter-Talibanisation. American writer John Steinbeck once said: “all war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal” and most of us will concur with him when it comes to countering the menace of escalating militancy and extremism in Fata, where the local narrative and dynamics of conflict are largely ignored while devising policy to counter the violence.

For instance, after the successful military operation Sherdil in 2006, Pakistani security forces were successful in restoring the state’s writ in Bajaur Agency. Despite militant networks having largely been dismantled there, residents still faced the danger of targeted killings, bomb blasts and cross-border attacks. In particular, those who took part in the civil militia (Qaumi Lashkar) against the Taliban were targeted the most. However, the nature of conflict in Mohmand Agency is different from that of Bajaur, where violent non-state actors are still present in the areas bordering the Agency and are constantly targeting military installations and local inhabitants. Likewise, in Khyber Agency, despite losses by the Taliban in the past few years, the security situation is not good, and targeted killings and kidnappings are rampant. To counter this, the military operation Khyber 1 was initiated in the Aka Khel area on October 17. While raids by gunship helicopters and jet fighters have significantly dismantled militant networks, they have also caused thousands of residents to flee the area.

Moving on to Orakzai and Kurram agencies, it has to be said that in both these regions, local inhabitants are alert to any kind of sectarian elements in the area. Both Shias and Sunnis organise regular meetings via jirgas and physically prevent sectarian elements from entering their respective areas. This does not mean that the Taliban are not present in either Kurram or Orakzai. For instance, they are present in the Jogi area of central Kurram, while in Orakzai, they have a limited presence in areas bordering North Waziristan and Khyber. Despite non-state actors having lost strength in most parts of Fata, they do have a stronghold in South and North Waziristan agencies.

As for the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb, there is no doubt that it has succeeded in severely degrading the capabilities of terrorists. However, it has come at a massive cost in terms of the over one million local people, who have been forced to leave their homes. Moreover, the state apathy on the part of both the federal and provincial governments to the basic needs of IDPs has been a considerable cause for worry. As a result, the unfortunate thing has happened, the gap between state institutions and local inhabitants has widened.

Mehran Wazir

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2014.

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