Parachinar and other erstwhile tribal zones need a reset

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I can vividly recall a Parachinar that was serene, harmonious and customary in tribal traditions. The picturesque valley under the shadows of snow-capped Afghan mountains was once a preferred recreation place too. The swirling Kabul River passes through its horizons among the orchards of Chinar where walnuts and mulberries are aplenty, and one could awe the migratory birds flocking over its skies, deer in the woods, as well as greyhounds that people kept as pets. The beauty of Shalozan, Zeran, Peiwar Pass and adjoining areas is instilled in my memory, where it was an arduous task to frequent out in the chills of winter.

In my early-professional days in 1990s as I used to work for The News, Islamabad, I twice undertook a visit to the then FATA region, breaking my journey in Peshawar, Thall and Hangu, heterogeneous populated zones where conformity and hospitality were ethos. Though carrying guns was a normal in those societies, it was soothing to see Frontier Constabulary, Levies and Scouts retain their writ, and any of the mischief or lawlessness was sternly taken note of by the Political Agent under the erstwhile FCR regulations. The region from Khyber Agency onwards up to Kurram, as the potholed roads navigated through the hills and barren plains, was well in order with locals zealously guarding their respect and rights.

That all changed for the worse, suddenly. It is not to say that sectarian and tribal fissures were not there in past decades, but the post-9/11 order saw deterioration in all shades of life. Geopolitics was a victim of the US invasion of Afghanistan and the spillover was evident in the form of bloodshed, conflicts and revulsion in Pakistan's tribal belt. Parachinar by virtue of being just 100 kilometers away from Kabul had always remained a theatre of uninterrupted trafficking of men and material. The Tora Bora thunders are still being heard all over.

The fact that Kurram is home to less than a million people, of which more than 45% belong to the Shia faith, has made it a powder keg of cross-border sectarianism as the border city is located in close proximity to Afghanistan's Khost, Paktia, Logar and Nangarhar provinces, considered havens for Islamic State and TTP. Likewise, Parachinar's ideological inclination towards Iran and its revolutionary ardour plunged the locals in a nexus of solidarity with non-state actors in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. The mushrooming of Zainebiyoun Brigade is a case in point, which allegedly had recruited thousands of men from Parachinar to end up as fodder in the Mideast.

Parachinar and the broader Kurram, as well as the adjoining territories, have many other excuses to bleed and explode, and land disputes sit at the pinnacle. While the region had for long been under colonial laws, where landholding was considered as symbols of power and prestige, its administrative unravelling after the 25th constitutional amendment had opened a floodgate of disputes. The authorities did set up a land reforms commission, but are unable to implement its report to this day.

This lethal combination of sectarian and tribal woes is enough to ignite into a full-fledged war as and when desired in a jaundiced society. That is what has been happening for long, to the extent of severing Parachinar from the rest of the country for weeks and months. The obscure airport at Parachinar has always been in limbo. It is recent history that residents of Parachinar had to travel to Peshawar via Kabul in order to make their supply ends meet, as authorities in Pakistan were in a state of paralysis.

The presence of heavy weapons, moreover, acts as a catalyst in pushing the entire zone in factional warfare. It inevitably turns into a free-for-all brawl, with the first bullet fired and the first casualty reported. Then tribes fight on in the name of honour, faith and enmity to revenge until a new thaw is reached. All that is left behind by then is a new chronology of death and destruction. Provincial and federal governments have long been conspicuous by their absence, and so is the case with the law-enforcement agencies who are found fingers-crossed.

If history and conventions are any criteria, it is going back to the grand Jirga forum that comes as a durable solution. Even this time around, the 14-point truce - reached in Kohat with the dawn of the New Year after weeks of slaughtering and blockade - was under the aegis of tribal mediation. That confirms the nomenclature that former FATA regions have their heart in customary pride, and are unrelenting as to accepting the Westphalian module. This should come as a food for thought for policymakers who play the fiddle of reforms and decamp once the region slides into anarchy.

The solution for Parachinar - or for that matter the restive Waziristan or other tribal zones - is going for judicious resolution of their local disputes under Jirga; empowering the masses in terms of manning their own security and economy; and ensuring that their autonomy is not subject to dovetailing from Islamabad or Peshawar.

Last but not least, ushering in sectarian harmony by eulogising ulema's role and making it mandatory by customary intervention that no foreign country will fund or influence their inhabitants is the way to go. Let the tribesmen take pride in their valve of consultations, and agree to disagree for a better tomorrow. It is ironic that these tribal zones that had lived in harmony with Sikhs and Hindus days for ages in the pre-partition are now at each other's throat despite both being believers from the great religion!

Parachinar, like Pakistan in a broader context, has a perpetual governance problem. It is bleeding because it has been put under a complicated paradigm of surveillance and sustenance, and that is not working. Our fallacies made Karachi, Swat, Waziristan, etc bleed more than once, and now Kurram is imploding. With little hope that the Kohat Truce shall hold, it's time to go back to the generic essence of tribalism and broker a reset.