Unanimous decision: Peace militia formed in South Waziristan
The militia will specifically be on the lookout for kidnappers, robbers and target killers entering the tehsil.
Recruits will be provided arms and will patrol their designated areas during the day and at night, says a jirga member. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
DERA ISMAIL KHAN:
A tribal peace militia of 200 men has been formed and assigned duties to guard the perimeters of Shakai tehsil, South Waziristan.
The militia will specifically be on the lookout for kidnappers, robbers and target killers entering the tehsil. The decision came after a local jirga of tribal elders and clerics held in Shakai Bazaar unanimously approved the militia’s formation.
The recruits will be provided arms and will patrol their designated areas during the day and at night, said a participant of the jirga, Malik Mir Muhammad. All tribes in the area have contributed in terms of manpower and will also be bearing the expenses of the militia, he added.
Shakai is a mountainous valley bordering North Waziristan. It is inhabited by sub-clans of the Wazir tribe, which remains under the influence of the Taliban group formerly led by Mullah Nazir, who was killed in a drone strike earlier this year.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and internally displaced persons from the Mehsud tribe initially resided in Shakai. They were, however, evicted after a jirga of the Ahmadzai tribe decided against their presence in the tehsil.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2013.
A tribal peace militia of 200 men has been formed and assigned duties to guard the perimeters of Shakai tehsil, South Waziristan.
The militia will specifically be on the lookout for kidnappers, robbers and target killers entering the tehsil. The decision came after a local jirga of tribal elders and clerics held in Shakai Bazaar unanimously approved the militia’s formation.
The recruits will be provided arms and will patrol their designated areas during the day and at night, said a participant of the jirga, Malik Mir Muhammad. All tribes in the area have contributed in terms of manpower and will also be bearing the expenses of the militia, he added.
Shakai is a mountainous valley bordering North Waziristan. It is inhabited by sub-clans of the Wazir tribe, which remains under the influence of the Taliban group formerly led by Mullah Nazir, who was killed in a drone strike earlier this year.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and internally displaced persons from the Mehsud tribe initially resided in Shakai. They were, however, evicted after a jirga of the Ahmadzai tribe decided against their presence in the tehsil.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2013.