Shah Hassan Khel, a year on: A village divided despite Taliban threat

Militants regard the formation of lashkar as defiance by villagers.


Manzoor Ali January 10, 2011

SHAH HASSAN KHEL: The militia of Shah Hassan Khel, a small village in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, is facing fierce Taliban wrath after they tried to counter their militancy under pressure from the authorities – a fate they share with many other lashkars who dared challenge the militants’ authority.

In most militancy-hit areas, authorities pressed tribal elders to raise lashkars against unruly militants. However, militants regarded the move on part of the local people as an act of defiance and inevitably took punitive actions against them, including launching suicide attacks. And the government has not yet been able to support the local people against the militants.

Militancy in this remote part of the province, which is on the border of Lakki Marwat, is not a new phenomenon: it first occurred during the days of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) when small militant bands slowly began consolidating.

In 2007, militants tried to kidnap a local nazim Idress Khan. The attempt ended in a clash between a local militia and militants.

At that time, authorities ignored the threat, and in fact people in Shah Hassan Khel alleged that the then District Police Officer of Lakki Marwat and Taliban commander Hussain Ahmed were so close that they used to dine together regularly.

In the summer of the 2010 when authorities were clamping down on militants across the region, Shah Hassan Khel did not escape their attention and security forces launched an operation there.

On June 28 last year, the government and local people agreed that they would not harbour militants and raise a lashkar to fight against them.

“This was a security lapse because policemen deputed outside this village failed to stop and check the vehicle,” a security official told The Express Tribune.

The official said that the vehicle crossed the check-post and traveled all the way to the volleyball field where the blast took place.

The situation is compounded by a division between villagers and the lashkar over compensation money.

Relatives of people who were killed in the blast have formed a group by the name of the Shuhada Union. They are accusing the head of the lashkar of embezzling funds meant for the heirs of the victims of the attack.

The treasurer of the peace committee, Mir Aslam, told The Express Tribune that the head of the lashkar was personally using the entire money and the relatives of the victims are being completely ignored.

Aslam said that 13 members of his family were killed in the attack, which was carried out by a cousin of the lashkar head, adding that none of his family members had received any compensation.

Haji Barkhordar, another member of the committee, also agreed with Aslam that he was using the money himself. “Policemen and army soldiers are guarding this village, but how long will they continue to protect us? What will we do after they will leave?” he said.

Head of the lashkar Mushtaq Ahmed denies the villagers’ allegations, saying that they had unanimously appointed him as the head of the peace committee.

Ahmed also questioned the silence of the local religious scholars. “Why are they not condemning Taliban actions in their Friday sermons or (if they believe they are not) the government is wrong? I stepped forward when the entire village was being threatened, but now when money is involved, everyone is trying to malign me,” Mushtaq said.

He said that he had distributed the entire money among the villagers, adding that the authorities have not met any of their commitments. “The village is still without clean drinking water, dispensary, schools, tube-wells and transformers,” he said.

He said that he and his family is now living in constant fear because of the lack of government support. “Three of my children have stopped going to school because of militant threats. I am constantly living in a state of fear,” he said

“We are not fighting over our lands, we are fighting for a government that has failed to help us,” he complained.

Authorities had promised at least 60 jobs in the police for the village youth, adding that this promise has not yet materialised even after a year.

In a place where everyone has a painful story to tell, the lashkar of Shah Hassan Khel is heading, rather quickly, towards a split.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10th, 2011.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ