Collective responsibility?: Elders demand timely action in FR Peshawar

Warn of a tribal war between different clans.

PESHAWAR:

Tribal elders from Frontier Region (FR) Peshawar have demanded a full-fledged operation against militants in the area, warning of a tribal war between families and clans if the government fails to launch an operation.

They said that in the absence of a clear-cut stance by authorities, people whose relatives have been murdered would start killings the militants in revenge.

There are 18 locals among a group of around 150 militants in the area which are led by a member of the Jowaki clan, said an elder requesting anonymity.

On December 29, Taliban insurgents executed 21 tribal policemen three days after they were seized in synchronised attacks on three security checkpoints in Frontier Region Peshawar.

Scores of heavily-armed militants stormed the checkpoints in Koi Hassan Khel, Zakhi Sar Musa Darra and Jani Khwar areas late Wednesday night, killing two Levies Force personnel and kidnapping 23 others.

The bodies of 21 Levies personnel were found dumped in a nullah near Koi Hassan Khel area on December 29. “Yes, 21 of them were found dead and one seriously wounded,” assistant political agent (APA) Naveed Akbar Khan had confirmed.



“Eleven days have passed since the massacre of our men. The government even failed to arrange their official funeral like soldiers should be laid to rest,” complained the elder, adding that the incident spread panic among the residents.

“Our 250 men have been provided with only 87 rifles, while the political administration did not provide cartridges,” he said. He added the levies personnel had been recruited two years earlier, but instead of being deployed elsewhere they were performing duties in their own villages.

Six months earlier, they were asked to man three check posts.

“One group had been deployed in a hostel which was still under construction and had no gate, so militants stormed it and took 10 people hostage without facing any opposition which is really unfortunate,” said another elder, adding the security personnel were not even equipped to defend themselves.

“They have suspended all our financial benefits and have imposed an embargo on us which means that my son cannot get a domicile, passport or even a national ID card,” he alleged.

He said that on the one hand their people were being killed, while on the other the administration was using the collective responsibility cause against them for the
same reason.

The elders demanded the government to provide monetary compensation to the deceased security personnel’s families and take steps to prevent such incidents in the future.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2013.