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Friday March 29, 2024

What have we achieved in Fata?

The army was moved into Fata by dictator Musharraf in total violation of the Quaid’s commitment with

By Ayaz Wazir
July 09, 2011
The army was moved into Fata by dictator Musharraf in total violation of the Quaid’s commitment with the tribesmen. The purpose of the army’s deployment, as Musharraf boasted then, was to guard against infiltration of militants from across the border into Pakistan and also to save the country from being sent back to the Stone Age by the Americans.
When we look back at all these long years of military operations in Fata we see nothing but death and destruction. We have neither stopped militants from crossing the border into Pakistan nor stopped the tribal areas from being bombarded and shelled back into the Stone Age. But in the process, the army has become bogged down in a quagmire without having any idea how to get out.
Most roads which were open for all kinds of traffic before deployment of troops in Fata have now been closed for security reasons. The few roads on which travel is allowed have numerous barriers and check posts every few miles making travelling hazardous, even during the daytime (night time travel in Fata is not permitted). It is not only cumbersome but also very risky. A small mistake can cost one one’s life or even land one in serious trouble with the army.
Having the good luck of hailing from the area I visited recently, South Waziristan, I travelled by public transport like any other tribesman to see for myself the difficulties encountered there. I travelled on the road from Tank to Wana via Gomal Zam Dam and back.
The first check post that one comes across is “Kaur police post”, taken over by the army, at the demarcation between the settled and the tribal areas. At this point, all vehicles have to be taken off the road and driven to an open field at a safe distance from the post where passengers await a security check. Here, passengers and luggage are checked after which the drivers queue up to get permission slips from the solitary czar of a sentry on duty. Only then can their vehicles proceed further on the road to Wana. While this happens all passengers, including women, children, the sick, and the elderly, stand waiting under the blazing sun with no arrangements for cold drinking water or shade.
Such checking is repeated at no less than five different places within a distance of twenty kilometres. It is not the inconvenience that overly bothers one but the humiliating behaviour of the security personnel that upsets people, particularly those travelling with their families. Isn’t it time they realised that civilians are not the scum of the earth and should be treated with due respect? They should realise that times have changed and such attitudes are no longer tolerated any where.
I had mentioned these difficulties in my article “S Waziristan as I saw it” which was published by May 3, 2010. After that, despite having received assurances from a senior military official that speedy corrective measures would be implemented, I saw no improvement upon my recent visit.
The chief of army staff is busy visiting one area after another in Fata. He takes keen interest in the development of Fata and has inaugurated various projects including the establishment of a Cadet College at Wana, widening of roads, and the construction of dams in that region. The frequency of his visits bears testimony to his interest in the development of Waziristan. This has won him the respect and admiration of the local people. While he is trying to win the hearts and minds of the tribesmen, his soldiers in that area are doing just the opposite.
They extend severe punishment on flimsy charges. The incident of a bus burning at Kaur post a year ago is still fresh in the minds of the people. The poor owner of the bus has approached every one who matters including the corps commander and the governor, but to no avail. To mitigate the injustice wreaked by his soldiers, the least the COAS can do is compensate the poor fellow forthwith.
The security personnel there also create unnecessary hurdles on the roads in the countryside, particularly between villages and the local markets. Movement of just a single soldier on the road brings traffic to a grinding halt. There is no exception made even for those who are critically ill and in urgent need of medical attention. And when there is movement of an army convoy, all hell breaks loose. Traffic is required to get off the road immediately, even at the risk of throwing the vehicle into a ravine if no other safe exit is possible. That way there may be some chances of survival but keeping the vehicle on the road may prove more dangerous. Of late, a new element has been noticed in the security personnel’s behaviour towards local people particularly those unable to speak Pashto. They treat the tribesmen with utter contempt, as potential enemies and citizens of a newly conquered territory.
The civil administration also needs to change its behaviour towards the public. Its personnel need to treat the tribesmen as respectable citizens, like elsewhere in the country. They need to make themselves accessible with minimal security restrictions rather than the ones in place these days under which the people are made to walk more than a mile through several check points before being allowed to enter official premises.
Now that the entire gamut of relations in the region is taking a new turn we should also prepare ourselves for coping with the changing situation. We should reassess our policy on the War on Terror and make a paradigm shift in finding a political solution to the problem. If the US can change its stance and work overtime to find the right kind of Taliban to talk to then why should we stick to the old ‘order’ of eliminating the militants altogether.
If the US can go from seeking a military solution to a political one for its problem in Afghanistan, then what stops us from doing the same? Why are we bent upon continuing with the use of force against our own people? Why shouldn’t we look at the problem from a fresh angle?
Again if the US can start a drawdown (retreat) of its troops from Afghanistan and hand over responsibility to the Afghans then what stops us from withdrawing our army from Fata and handing over responsibility to the tribesmen to manage their affairs with the help of the Frontier Scouts who had looked after security of that area earlier and still
enjoy a good rapport with the local people?
The government has to wake up to the new realities that are upon us. It has to take the right political decisions if it really wants to solve the problems that we face in the tribal areas. This is the only way out.
The writer is a former ambassador hailing from Fata. Email: waziruk@hotmail.com