South Waziristan peace march: PTI prepares for Oct 6 with high hopes

Despite concerns, party maintains march necessary for allegiance with tribal people.

DI KHAN:

On October 6, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will march to South Waziristan with an estimated crowd of over 100,000 people, but many rival political parties of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) remain unconvinced about the likelihood of the rally. 

Security concerns

The PTI’s organiser for South Waziristan Agency, Ajab Gul Wazir, told The Express Tribune that the march was keeping in tune with the preferences of the tribal people. The PTI has expressed its desire to sympathise with the unsuspecting victims of the ‘war on terror’. “Like the tribal people, we want to get out of this war,” said Wazir. “We have no security worries. We are marching with the tribes and not against them.”

PTI chief Imran Khan has also constantly played down security risks in the area. He claims that ground realities show that there are in fact less security risks in South Waziristan than in the settled areas. In press conferences, he has also stipulated that the increased presence of security check posts along the road leading from Tank to South Waziristan will reduce threats. The PTI hopes that a strong presence of the Pakistan Army in the area will help the rally run smoother. The PTI Women’s Wing Central President, Fauzia Kasuri, has also claimed that women will attend the march, despite security risks.

Earlier, media reports surfaced that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) members had threatened to kill the PTI leader if he entered the area. However, the TTP retracted the statement, saying that it would make a decision about its stance at a date closer to the march.

Marching to South Waziristan

Since the rally is heading to South Waziristan, it is also a worry that many people from North Waziristan will not be able to attend the march due to strict travel regulations imposed by the Pakistan Army in the area.

The march is said to finish at Spinkai Raghzai, an area of South Waziristan, which predominantly comprises members of the Mehsud tribe. Many native to South Waziristan are crediting Imran for fulfilling promises he made to them in the past. Showing sympathy with war-affected tribes is seemingly one of the biggest reasons behind Imran’s positive image in the area. The PTI chairman claims his roots in South Waziristan. His mother, Shaukat Khanum, belongs to the Burki tribe of Kaniguram in South Waziristan.

Presently, North Waziristan and the Wana subdivision of South Waziristan are constantly targeted by US unmanned drone strikes. It is largely believed that the Mehsud tribes area has been rid off TTP militants after a military operation in 2009. There has not been a drone strike in the area since then.

Recent developments

On September 25, the PTI’s Youth Wing Chief Abdul Wahid Mehsud and Insaf Students Federation held a meeting in DI Khan with the chief organiser Wazir. The PTI chapter has decided to undertake a more personal approach to advertising the march, including door-to-door visits to encourage people to attend.

On the occasion, Wazir maintained the PTI’s view that the peace march was important to show international media and human rights organisations about the reality of the situation in South Waziristan.

The PTI has high hopes for the march. Whether or not they have accurately predicted the response they are aiming to achieve after the rally, the PTI continues to dismiss negativity and maintains it is crucial to promote the message of peace to tribal areas in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2012.