Security situation: Four times as many people killed in FATA in 2012: report

Proactive steps at empowering locals and holding accountability stressed.

ISLAMABAD:

There was a massive surge in casualties in FATA in 2012, where a total of 4,052 persons including 1,463 militants were killed compared to a total of 1,957 casualties in 2011.

This was revealed in an annual report on “Extremism and Radicalisation: State of Governance in Fata” that was launched by the FATA Research Council at Islamabad Hotel on Tuesday.

According to the report, Khyber Agency emerged as the most volatile administrative unit, with 302 persons were killed. The other agencies include 32 casualties in Mohmand Agency, 143 in Orakzai, 45 in Kurram, and 99 and 96 in North and South Waziristan agencies respectively.

The report has widely criticised the governance system prevalent in tribal areas on the basis of its structural inefficiency, incompetency and inhuman treatment being meted out to the tribesmen.

It reveals an overall bleak situation on the ground as deep sense of insecurity, alienation and deprivation is being prevailed among the tribesmen due to ongoing situation.  It shows that 94% of the respondents were not satisfied with the current administrative setup, 65% respondents consider officials of political administration corrupt while 28% held political agents and army as sole decision makers.

The report says that a sizable 62% of the respondents felt insecure in the current prevailing situation in FATA while 77% expressed dissatisfaction over the provision of basic facilities and the quality of public service delivery.



The report suggests empowering tribal elders, ensuring the rule of law, transparency, accountability at all levels, better responsiveness, more culture, freedom of expression, education and compensation of the tribesmen for bringing back peace to the area.

Later, Brig (retd) Said Nazir, security analyst on tribal areas, held former President Musharraf responsible for the current crisis that has engulfed each and every sector of the country. “The country is bearing the brunt of one man’s decisions. Insurgency was the outcome of Musharraf’s wrong decisions,” he said.

He said the tribal people have always been used and abused in the name of unpaid guardians of the borders who are forced to either to join the army or militants or to leave their homes and become refugees.

“But despite atrocities and discrimination the tribesmen have never raised slogan of independence like other federating units of the country,” he said. “There are thousands of local seminaries in the country but its students are peaceful and never indulged in anti-state activities,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2013.