The battle for Waziristan — II

In my last op-ed, I shared the general feeling prevailing in Waziristan in the post Operation Zarb-e-Azb phase. There is a feeling of deep acknowledgement of the sacrifices rendered by the armed forces. The peace in the area now rests on a tri-podic model that consists of political empowerment, more economic space for the tribals, and an improved and sustained security environment. The military has laid the groundwork for this, which is fairly discernible. It is now for the civilian leadership to pick up the thread. The drawdown of regular forces, however, is contingent on the capacity and ability of the civil armed forces to measure up to any eventuality that the tribal regions may face in the future. There are still questions about the ability and readiness of the political administration to take complete responsibility of the region on its shoulders. Public officeholders designated to Waziristan still prefer to operate from the settled districts and visit the area as and when required.

Operation Zarb-e-Azb may have brought in many dividends, but it has also relegated the role of the tribal administration to the sidelines. This has suited a large number of the civilian officer corps, who prefer to stay on the sidelines and adopt a laidback approach to administration. This is by no means an ideal situation and calls for serious engagement at the highest level to bring a semblance of normalcy to the area. In the good old days, civil servants in all districts were required to spend 12 nights a month in rural areas, away from the headquarter. This gave them time to reflect on the state of the district, while bringing them closer to its ground realities. Let alone the tribal areas, this practice is in disuse even in the settled districts these days.

The situation on the ground post-9/11 brought about a turnaround in the character of the tribal areas. Violent extremism was strengthened and the writ and authority of the political administration eroded. This diluted the influence of the maliks, who worked as interlocutors between the tribes and the state. The situation also raised questions about the relevance of the basic law governing criminal administration i.e., the Frontier Crimes Regulations. This legal framework has a distinct feature of collective tribal responsibility for an individual’s criminal act. It is indeed bewildering how such an oppressive clause could stay on the statutes in the 21^st century, more so when tribal bonds have been weakened by the indulgences of criminals. The area of criminal administration requires a complete revamp.

The tribesmen of Waziristan are a hardy and potentially industrious lot. A considerable workforce from the area is gainfully employed in the Middle East. The land is by and large barani and there is much reliance on subsistence farming. Certain pockets are known for producing marketable fruits. Livestock farming promises a lucrative avenue if a well thought-out, sustained intervention is made by the government. Productivity enhancement, better breeding practices, disease management and setting up of formal cattle markets are some of the measures, which can help the tribals encash the region’s endowments and improve living standards. Skill development of employable youth could be another area worth targeting. The available known structures at the local level can be used as nodal points for imparting vocational training to both male and female youth. Madrassas with credible credentials can be co-opted as delivery points. Students and the institutions can be offered financial incentives for the promotion of employable skills through trainers. The federal government should detail its training outfits to move in without further loss of time.

The water table in most of the region is fairly deep, compelling people to fetch it from far-off springs. Gravity-based water supply schemes are the only cost-effective, viable solution. Such projects need a big thrust. In this regard, the non-profit sector can be co-opted to make investments and contributions.

The tribal administration needs to be in a far more specialised form. It requires more professionalism. The British had chosen to set up the Indian political service to man the tribal areas. During the first tenure of the PPP in the 1970s, the Tribal Areas Group, TAG, was constituted as a specialised cadre to man various key positions in the tribal regions. A stream of officers who have served in these areas could be used to bring in their experience in policy formulation. This service cadre was disbanded during the time of General Ziaul Haq. There is a need to give a thought to the revival of the cadre while acknowledging the specialised nature of administering the tribal areas.

This brings us to the tricky issue of the status of Fata, at present governed in the name of the president as an adjunct of the ministry of state and frontier regions. Fata is the most centralised region in the country where citizens do not have the right to judicial review in case of an ingress by the state. The status of Fata needs to be revisited. Options regarding giving it a separate provincial status or merging it with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) are fraught with uncertainties right now. In the former case, amongst other things, this may have a snowball effect within other provinces with a heightened demand for reconfiguration of the federation. In the latter case, this may well upset the ethnic mix of K-P giving rise to fissiparous tendencies, especially in Hazara. The foremost thing here has to be the upholding of the will of the tribesmen. Their views need to be kept in mind regarding either option. Another viable option could be to declare Fata an autonomous region, empowering it in specific terms along with instituting participative structures and an element of nominations keeping in view tribal traditions. We may look at the Indian experience in this regard. India provided autonomous status to its tribal areas and empowered them in specific terms through its Constitution. An autonomous council could be set up for legislative purposes and for providing a mechanism for inter-agency coordination. Agency councils and tehsil councils can also be set up for the delivery of services and for undertaking development work at the local level. A beginning could be made through an incremental approach.

Some extremist elements have been routed from the area while others have gone into hibernation. Some have crossed the Durand line to the other side. The physical and visible presence of regular troops is the deterring factor against these elements raising their heads again. The porous borders with Afghanistan now require close vigilance and effective management. Pakistan and Afghanistan have both accused each other of giving space to violent elements. Fencing the Durand line is an anathema to the Afghans but we cannot keep our borders unguarded either. The option of laser fencing along the most frequented undesignated routes must be explored. This high-tech option can prove to be quite resilient. At this stage, one has to work within the given policy environment notwithstanding the fact that durable peace warrants a seamless regional approach in concert with key actors.

The current situation along our western borders has been further complicated with the US drone attack that killed Mullah Mansoor. Our official iteration at high levels about the violation of our sovereignty may sync well with the domestic audience but it may not resonate well with the world at large. The target of the drone attack had been travelling inside Pakistan on a fake CNIC and held a Pakistani passport. This subterfuge was also a glaring violation of Pakistan’s laws and sovereignty. It is high time we stopped living with half-truths. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2016.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.