In the land of the drones

Welcome to North Waziristan, where you will find drones, militants and all that you can imagine.

A wave of insecurity crosses the runway at the Miranshah Scouts camp as the last rays of the setting sun shimmer over gunship helicopters. A security official from Peshawar is waiting for us. Welcome to North Waziristan, he says, where you will find drones, militants and all that you can imagine. “It’s a journalist’s paradise,” he concludes with a stifled smile. When asked if we could go to Miranshah bazaar, his immediate reply was, “Only if you do not want to return,” followed by a sombre burst of laughter.

Some 20,000 security personnel of the Pakistan Army and Tochi Scouts are deployed throughout the agency after the military moved in with Operation al Mizan in the post-9/11 days. The Miranshah Scouts camp, home to the Tochi Scouts, is over a century old. It’s an area “frozen in time,” says Major-General Ghayur. “Militancy is a short-lived phenomenon, the future of Fata needs to be decided. These mountains are rich with minerals. Trade worth millions takes places through the border in this part but there is a silent turbulence that’s felt in areas such as these” he adds.

As the night takes over, a strange noise, like a drill machine, engulfs the air. A resident tells me that this is what drones sound like. “Wait till it fires a missile! It’s like the sky has been torn apart,” he says. It’s routine here and the buzzing sound can be heard through the otherwise quiet night.

Areas of North Waziristan have been the site of frequent drone strikes. The targets are usually homes allegedly harbouring militants in semi-autonomous zones. Almost thirty people were killed in the last week alone due to these strikes which have been publicly condemned by the Pakistani government and people. Residents of North Waziristan have coined the term “ababeel” for the drones — referring to a surah in the Holy Quran which speaks of swarms of tiny birds, ababeel, defeating an army by showering them with stones carried in their beaks.

The rutted path towards Saidgi Village and Ghulam Khan, the third most important border after Torkham and Chaman and some 15 kilometres from the town of Miranshah, has a crater almost 15 feet wide and 20 feet deep. “A vehicle was targeted here, two missiles were fired at it,” says an official. Houses are in ruins and very few people live here, revealing the threats faced by residents on a daily basis.

Naraidag is the last checkpost on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border where a Pakistani flag flutters. Half a kilometre away still from Afghanistan’s territory, soldiers keep a vigil on ridges between high mountains on either side. Many of the peaks have relatively low-lying chasms or crevices which are used by militants to pass through, according to an officer at the post. I am told that just a few days back around 20 suspected militants were killed in an air strike. A strange buzzing sound fills the air once again.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2010.