Merged tribal areas and broken promises

The sentiments and aspirations of the people of the merged tribal areas represented by political parties, elected representatives and civil society reverberated in a conference (jirga) held under the auspices of the Awami National Party (ANP) at Bacha Khan Markaz, a few days ago. Sensing the general pulse of the participants, one could easily assume that the slow pace of reforms have dampened the spirits of the people.

The participants underscored the need for peace, security, and socio-economic development, optimum utilisation of natural resources, freedom of movement and speech as well as trade within Pakistan and with Afghanistan, along with the repatriation and rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Articulating the grievances of the people, the speakers stressed the need for introduction of local bodies system, utilisation of funds through the civilian setup and elected representatives, and posting of local officers. They were quite concerned over the grip of the state apparatus on minerals and other natural resources to the exclusion of the local tribes and demanded that the profit be shared with them based on equity and the local customs.

The reforms package (particularly the 3% of the NFC award and the immediate release of Rs50 billion) that was announced with the amendments have not yet come to life, causing anguish and dismay. The authenticity of the recent census and the intention of the government were doubted as the population’s numerical strength had been reduced and no clear road map for development had been given.

The unofficial rahdari system in vogue was criticised, as the participants questioned where the taxes were being deposited. Similarly, whether the custom duty collected at Torkham and other international points was being deposited into the treasury or not and whether there was any check and balance in place for that. It was alleged by the participants that approximately Rs30 million collected per day had not being accounted for, expressing surprise and concern over the fact that the militant commanders still carried around Rs3 million worth of items on the border.

The development schemes have still not been handed over to the district administration. The minimal role of the administration in the life of the area has created a wide gulf between the people, thus creating a feeling of deprivation. The overarching role of security forces in jirgas is not in synch with their psychology; therefore such a space should be left to the district administration. The best course now is that each department should perform its defined role with inclusiveness as the paramount principle.

In his anguish, one of the participants said that militants from districts such as Swabi and Mardan were flocking to Waziristan in order to get training. They might likely be used in another proxy war within the region. The people’s demand was to exercise zero tolerance against all shades of violent non-state actors without any distinction of good or bad.

The woes expressed in the conference were quite alarming reflecting the sentiments and the deep-seated mentality of social inequality, discrimination, human rights violation and exploitation of resources. This is particularly due to the state apparatus forming companies for the exploring and controlling of mines and trade. These feelings are further ignited due to the failure to compensate for the damages caused to the people’s properties. Moreover, the government has also been indifferent to the protesting residents of North Waziristan assembled outside the Provincial Assembly for the last one week or so. Such kind of combustible material is enough to fire a feeling of militancy in one form or the other.

Not only the people of the area, but all political parties of the province are quite upset on the curbs imposed on movement in and outside the tribal areas in particular to Waziristan. They have a point to make: why is the Baka Khel camp for Temporary Displaced Persons being treated as a no-go area, restricting the movement of visitors? And why are steps not being taken for the safe repatriation of the Wazir IDPs across the border? The resentment on the hurdles over the movement of dead bodies from and to Afghanistan also appears to be genuine and a cause of animosity.

No doubt, the passage of the 25th Amendment was a big landmark in the the political history of Pakistan for mainstreaming the erstwhile tribal areas, but simultaneously it also generated new hopes and aspirations for the good things in life to be brought before the people through the eyes of the global media. This revolution of expectations, in the form of enjoyment of fundamental rights and social choices, if not translated into reality may lead to frustration, ultimately culminating into agitation and maybe militancy.

There is no doubt that the task to uplift the area is quite gigantic, keeping in view the devastating impact of the War on Terror and the rough terrain coupled with low socio-economic indicators compared to other parts of the country. An increase of 62% was seen in the ADP allocation for Fata as the amount increased from Rs10,350 million to Rs16,765 million between 2011 and 2015. Education received 23.67% of the total share, followed by communications (20.64%), regional development (13.53%), health (9%), PHE (7.98%), irrigation (6.05%), housing (3.88%), forest (3.41%), rural development (2.96%), livestock and dairy development (2.70%), agriculture (2.25%) and others. The financial year 2015-16 ADP was Rs1,393 million higher than the previous year. As a result of low allocation of funds and turmoil, the area has an overall 33.3% literacy rate.

The industry received a major setback. Out of a total of 515 industrial units, 158 have been closed and 27 are not in working condition. Amidst the peak of militancy, the production of major minerals (marble, coal and limestone) either remained unchanged or dropped. The road infrastructure also got damaged due to IED blasts and military operations. A total of 562,309 kilometres of roads were damaged costing Rs1,837.221 million. According to FDIHS 2013-14 survey, overall unemployment rate in Fata stood at 8.1% (Agencies 6.3%, FRs 17.1%) vis-à-vis 6.2% in the rest of the country.

The feeling of deprivation of the tribal areas is not unfounded. These can be assuaged by the release of committed funds essential for the socio-economic development. Let the promises not be broken and their dreams not shattered.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2020.

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