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Our dereliction in Kurram
Because of Pakistan’s ambivalence towards TTP and Haqqani Group, it has had to suffer gradual diminution of its...
Kurram has had to run the gauntlet of the first TTP chief, Baitullah Mehsud, who sent his Waziristan lashkar there under the blood-thirsty Qari Hussain in 2007.
According to a report published in a newspaper on November 30, the government has allowed a very dubious meeting between the elders of the Kurram Agency, members of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and “foreign” agents of the Haqqani Group from North Waziristan. The meeting was held “in a guesthouse” in Islamabad and the objective was “restoration of peace in Parachinar (Kurram headquarters) which has remained cut off from the rest of country for three years.”
Who were the interlocutors? MNA Sajid Hussain Turi representing the Shia of Kurram and some elders, while the opposite side was represented by Qari Taj, the commander of the Haqqani Group in Kurram Agency, and Karim Mushtaq, TTP commander for Kurram and Orakzai agencies. Another MNA, Munir Khan Orakzai, also attended the meeting. The talks were fruitless because the Shia Turi side was not willing to give the right of way to the TTP and Haqqani group militants through their territory. In retaliation, the other side refused to lift the roadblock on Thall-Parachinar Road that cuts Kurram off from the rest of the country.
The Turis are in a bind. They can’t leave or enter their agency and have to use Afghanistan territory where they are at risk of being killed by pro-al Qaeda terrorists. Al Qaeda is not particularly fond of the Turis because they are Shia and because they did not allow al Qaeda leadership to stay on their soil after its escape from Tora Bora in 2001. Well-off Turis spend Rs8,000 on a plane ride from Peshawar to get home. The Agency is no longer under any semblance of federal government control for the last three years. And the Haqqani Group from Afghanistan, which is being allowed to hold talks with the Turis in Islamabad, has no business being in Pakistan.
Pakistan is projecting its power into Afghanistan on the basis of warriors who don’t belong to Pakistan and is giving them a status inside Pakistan that violates the sovereignty of the state. The TTP is dominant under the banner of anti-Shia feeling spread in the region by the Sipah-e-Sahaba, a banned terrorist organisation of Punjab which inspires the tribes that live around Kurram. Kurram lies next to the three Afghan provinces of Khost, Paktia, and Nangarhar. It has half a million inhabitants out of which around two-fifths are Shia — besides, the capital Parachinar has a majority Shia population. The agency lies next to Waziristan, Orakzai and Khyber agencies where warlords harbour severely sectarian feelings. Down the road from Kurram to Peshawar, cities like Kohat and Hangu have Shia communities cowering before the power of the Taliban for the last decade.
Kurram has had to run the gauntlet of the first TTP chief, Baitullah Mehsud, who sent his Waziristan lashkar there under the blood-thirsty Qari Hussain in 2007. Around 400 Mehsud and Wazir militants fought against the Shia in Kurram, burning down villages and killing dozens of them. Two months later, another warlord, Hakimullah Mehsud, sent hundreds of fighters to outnumber the Shia offering resistance to him. After becoming head of the TTP, Hakimullah appointed Mullah Noor Jamal from Orakzai, known as Mullah Toofan, to lead the Taliban. Mullah Toofan, a brutal commander, indulged in carnage and blocked the above-mentioned road, cutting Kurram from the rest of Pakistan. Infamous warlord Mangal Bagh of Khyber Agency, successfully challenging the Pakistan army, has also dipped his hands in the blood of the people of Kurram.
Pakistan’s military strategy focuses on a quest to control territories not part of its map, at the expense of territory it does have. The bulk of the Pakistan Army faces India on the eastern border. Because of Pakistan’s ambivalence towards the TTP and the Haqqani Group, it has had to suffer a gradual diminution of its writ in small cities like Kohat, Hangu and Bannu, while virtually losing control over the provincial capital, Peshawar. On the eve of America’s exit from Afghanistan, the focus is on how to prevent India from retaining its foothold there. It is difficult to imagine how territories lost inside Pakistan in the pursuit of this strategy will be regained.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2010.
Reader Comments (17)
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Agreed! – When will sanity prevailRecommend
Why do Pakistan media keeps harping that TTP is manipulated by India when this article says it is in talks with Pakistan for a cooperative effort to house other terrorists. Is there any “pakileak” web siteRecommend
Informative. The extremist sunnis were always a threat for the shia muslims in the region. They have increases the sectarian prejudice of sunnis by blocking their passage to Afghanistan.Recommend
Wikileak also said how pakistani state agencies(yes ISI and Military who are the main people running pakistan, sadly…) are covertly supporting terror groups against India.. how come this is missing from headlines… so basically what the world (and India) is saying all along regarding 26.11 mumbai terror attack seems correct..Recommend
This article once again proves that the Kurram war is not sectarian. Now it is clear who are real players.Pakistan intellegence agencies took the current shape and powers in the regime of Zia and that element is still strong and iin commanding position.
On another side it is also cllear that Pakistani rulers always play dual game. They show some thing different and ground realities are totally different. The taliban are completely managed by isi and most of them are on their pay role. The MNAs from Kurram Munir orakzai and Sajid Turi were elected with isi support and now they are sincerely working for them.They both has no role in their constituencies and even no courrage to visit.The patriot Turi will never surrender to Taliban and this is true that Pak army failed to defeat taliban but Turis of K urramm did it in their area.Recommend
We are reading these types of news reports for quite a while but there doesn’t seem any solution to this prevailing problem. Government can do everything if it is determined to do so. But if the government has some other hidden plans and don’t want to bring pre-9/11peace in Kurram Agency, we may not see any improvement in current scenario.Recommend
Zarin,
Striagth your facts before posting them on the websites. I belong to Kurram Agency and I know MNA Sajid personally. He lives in the Kurram for most of the times. Majority of the people of Parachinar are with him. If he is the representative of ISI then why will he deny to give way to Taliban from our land. You should visit the area and see how Taliban are killing innocent people and how miserable the life is in Parachinar. If you are commenting by just reading about it on newspapers then you are just promoting the media propaganda.Recommend
Syed Ali Shah
OK if he(Sajid Turi) is you real representative preserve him for future generations.Recommend
Turi will never compromise their own values and land no mater who ever MNA is. The truth is that the people of Parachinar are united and have influence on the decisions taken by the leader. Leaders will never take the decision against their own people because then they will be considered the enemy of their traditions and that could be the end of their leadership.
One thing is clear
“Shia of Parachinar will Die but never give up against bad people. it does not matter if it is Al-Qaida, Taliban or someone else. Like 14 centuries ago our beloved Imam Hussain [A.S] opted to be sacrificed for islam instead of compromising with Yazid[The bad guy]“Recommend
clear truth. i don’t know whether ISI is involved or not ,but i m always compelled to think that why do these people do not understand that the big force that is doing all this is USA which the enemy of all Muslims. we shia people have realized this but the Sunni people don’t realize this . Peace could only be brought if we both sects want to bring it. we should not blame ISI for it, because see what ISI wants ? they want to give way through shia areas and u can see ISI is not successful so far. i mean to say if we want peace then no ISI , CIA or RAW can stop us from bringing peace. i hope u understand what i mean to say! I give u guarantee of Peace and stability in Shia areas . moreover i must say that all the areas of FATA r just like a china wall for Pakistan , but u know unfortunately Government has not realized this so far.People of FATA r always ready to save Pakistan from any foreign attack or danger. but the Govt policies toward them r making them harsh and erupting hatred for the Govt and Army which is the policy of USA.
all in all i must say that everyone knows what is true and what is not true.Recommend
Syed Ali Shah and Asad Ali
This is true that Turi is the only tribe succeeded to defeat Taliban & AQ in the region. Pak Army and Allied forces in Afghanistan failed to do so. Great and keep it up but:
Trace your history, you won lot of war in history but lost on table. This is due to weakness of your leadership and time will prove that so called leaders and Mullahs are on ISI pay role and isi is elder obedient son of cia. Turis success is not from the leaders but their faith and hidden help is the reason. I lived their as refugy and have seen lot of such events.Recommend
My respect goes to the Turis. Hopefully, your misery will end one day.Recommend
It shows inability of our leadership to control terrorism in Kurram agency and Parachanar. What is meant to dialogue with Haqani Group and TTP? It shows that our Govt. is unable to tackle these terrorist groups in Pakistan particularly in Parachanar/Kurram agaency. TTP & Haqani Groups are pro-Alqaida and against Shiat. its routes are deep penetrated in Pakistan in shape of Lashkar E Jhangvi & Sipah Sahaba Pakistan that are proudly doing Bomb Blasting & Target Killings in Pakistan. Second Aspect of this is that Govt is equally participant in Target Killings and bomb blastings in Pakistan; if u say no then why govt is inviting Terrorists Groups for Dialogue. it means that we have no solid thinking against terrorism and can sit with such groups like Haqani Group.
Sadae-Mazlomen Pakistan
News NetworkRecommend
Pakistan Govt seems less serious in facing Terrorists; otherwise it is a question on faces of Mazloom Peolpe of Kurram Agency/ Parachan that how Pakistani Govt is sitting with Terrorists (Outsider terrorists) to solve problems. is it possible that these terrorists Group will have solution to solve kurram agency issue? it is not possible as these Groups have solid idiology against humanity are humans are nothing before them. they can kill children/women/elders etc. thay can burn live peresons. Why govt begging before TTP & Haqani Groups that are getting full support from Afghanistan Taliban and indirectly from America that is base and founder of Talinban in Afghanistan.
Sadae-Mazlomen Pakistan
News NetworkRecommend
@ Zarin is 110 % true and there is too many reasons and the Turi elders are 100% corrupt and there is no doubt about the success of the Turi,s in the fighting field but they always have been defeated on the table and this time there is no such elder involve in the talks all Rt subedars and Rt capt from Militia has been imposed on Turis and they are on payroll of the Political agent. So many other facts are also made the kurram agency war zone.Recommend
@Zarin i thinks u r the ex MNA,s of kurram Agency and u r belong to tari, dear if u say that MAN selected by isi and these people involved in these activities.before you say first of all you should thing about your self,that what ever is going is due to you people,have you see the people of Tari Ghado Haroti and sarsorang they are completely animal,dear you do not mind these word,bez off you people we loss a lot of human life.that youy people influencing fight on us in upper kurram agency (Pewar).why you do not stop those blood people in which your the leader. in the fighting of Hawas when our dead bodies are there you use that words that do not give the dead bodies,due to which our people come to defeat the people of Tanghe .and now the treat to you that you do a lot off commets. if you people thing earlier we will not reach to such condition.in other Kurram area TTP are involved and in your area these is no TTP why you do that fighting.now it,s your term be careful and inform your area people that what going on on the other sides .one things more that i,m from Pewar your enemy we will me at our home land byeRecommend
@ Zarin
I agree with you 200 %. It is the fact that we Turi’s won every on the field and lost every one on the table due to some of our corrupts leaders. Due to which all the sacrifices of our people were fruitless.
@ Syed Ali Shah
what Zarin said is absolutely true because all such facts are the reasons of terrorism in this region. Can you tell me with proofs that even a single time he (MNA Sajid Turi) has raised his voices in parliament house for Kurram Agency that why Govt is not taking action to bring peace in the region. Is that is not his responsibility to do something for the people of Kurram.who have elected him according to you.I don’t think that 100% people of Kurram trust him because upto now he has done nothing for the people of Kurram.Recommend