Volatile Parachinar

The volatile and strife-torn Kurram district is apparently gearing up for some big action. The decision on the part of the local administration to move in the law-enforcement agencies to crack down on unscrupulous elements is the need of the hour, and is in relevance with salient features of the accord agreed earlier this month between the feuding sides. But at the same time, extreme caution should be exercised that any action is not seen as a knee-jerk reaction to the attack on convoys on the way to Parachinar. Moreover, while sections of the district, especially the Bagan residents, are in protest and have genuine grievances, the intended counter-terrorism operation should not be selective and go across the board to hunt out the culprits and their abettors in the entire region.

Relocation of more than a thousand families and setting up camps for these temporarily displaced persons will come as an administrative challenge. It also requires greater coordination between various sub-localities up till Thal and should not create a new mess. At the same time, it goes without saying that if there had been enough local intelligence input and beefed-up inspection on the path of aid convoys, two simultaneous attacks would not have occurred. This lapse must also be investigated and efforts made to reopen the route for more inflow of humanitarian assistance that is in dire need in the entire Parachinar.

The authorities also need to huddle together with the Grand Jirga elements to make them aware that the government has not abdicated its authority, and any further failure on the part of tribal elders would be subject to retribution. The unpredictability in the region warrants that aid be poured in immediately through an air bridge, and the reopening of Parachinar airport be studied in all exigency. Last but not least, buoying up reconstruction activities, providing justice to the uprooted residents and dismantling the entire edifice of terror in the form of bunkers and sleeping cells are a must, and should not be put off for another time.