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WEEKLY
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| Bajaur elders were ready to rein in militants |
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Thursday, November 02, 2006
Five undertakings listed in draft; missile attack sabotaged agreement
Rahimullah Yusufzai
PESHAWAR: On the day missiles hit the Zia-ul-Uloom seminary in Bajaur agency, killing 80 people, who were mostly students, tribal elders from Mamond area where the Madrassa was located were scheduled to hold a meeting to finalise an undertaking with the government not to harbour local or foreign militants and pay a fine of Rs 5 million in case of any violation of the agreement.
The undertaking had already been drafted by aides to the NWFP Governor, Lt-Gen (retd) Ali Mohammad Jan Orakzai, and was ready to be signed by the elders of tribes inhabiting Mamond Tehsil in Bajaur. A copy of the draft in Urdu was made available to The News.
The five conditions listed in the draft would have tied the hands of the tribal militants in Mamond area and made their Maliks and other elders accountable for any violations of the undertaking. Issues such as existence of military training camps run by militants, misuse of Madrassas or presence of wanted foreigners in the area would have been effectively tackled had the undertaking been signed on the day of the aerial strike on the Madrassa in Chenagai village. There would have been no need for such missile attacks and bombings, which invariably cause collateral damage and contribute to the intensity of hatred against the attackers.
The issue of finalisation of the undertakings by Mamond tribal elders was pushed into the background, following the missile strikes. It is intriguing that the Pakistan Army by claiming to have struck the seminary and killed 80 people made it even more difficult to secure the undertakings from the Mamond tribes.
That is the reason that almost everyone in Bajaur is refusing to believe the Pakistan Army’s claim and is instead convinced that the missiles strikes were launched by the US military through its pilotless Predator spy plane. They have no doubt that the US is opposed to peace agreements with militants, whether in North Waziristan or Bajaur. The five undertakings that the government wanted the Mamond tribes to accept were as follows:
1) We, the tribes of Mamond in Bajaur agency, undertake in writing that we would neither give refuge to any Pakistani or foreign terrorist or criminal nor establish contacts with them. We undertake to cooperate with the government of Pakistan and the political administration of Bajaur in taking action against local or foreign militants in case information becomes available about presence of suspects in the area.
2) We undertake to accept and follow all decisions and agreements already made or likely to be made at the national and local levels between us and Pakistan government and political administration of Bajaur for maintaining law and order and pursuing development activities.
3) We agree to cooperate with government and non-government organisations and protect the life and property of their members for the sake of Bajaur’s progress and prosperity and for ensuring law and order.
4) We also undertake not to take part in any militant activity or acts of sabotage in or outside Pakistan that would bring a bad name to the country.
5) As patriotic Pakistanis, we would not hesitate to offer sacrifices for the country, whenever called upon to do so by the government of Pakistan and the political administration of Bajaur.
In conclusion, the draft states that the Mamond tribes would be responsible for any violation of the above-mentioned five undertakings and would be liable to be made accountable by the government of Pakistan and the political authorities of Bajaur.
“We undertake to pay fine of Rs 5 million in case of violation of the undertaking and accept other forms of punishment, which include demolition of home of the accused and expulsion from the area.
Reached in Bajaur, political figures and commoners said they were anticipating the signing of the undertaking on October 30 and were happy that it would herald peace in the area. They felt the missile attack on the seminary had shed innocent blood and shattered their hopes for a peaceful Bajaur.
Surprisingly, the leader of the tribal militants Maulana Faqir Mohammad said he still wanted to conclude a peace agreement with the authorities and contribute his bit for a peaceful and prosperous Bajaur.
Though critical of the missile strikes for which he blamed both the US and Pakistan government, he told The News from an undisclosed location in Bajaur that his men would not be drawn into a fight with the Pakistan Army or other national institutions.
However, he said the draft of the undertaking had not been shown to him or his representatives and he wasn’t aware of all its contents. He said he would not object to all the five undertakings which the government wanted the Mamond tribes to accept but some of points listed there needed to be elaborated, clarified and discussed to make them acceptable to his supporters. “We told mediators that we wanted a peace agreement on the lines of the one signed in North Waziristan,” he stressed.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
