Security situation in South Waziristan deteriorates

PESHAWAR: The security situation in South Waziristan has started deteriorating again as a senior leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), Ayaz Wazir, was recently kidnapped after he and some other local politicians formed a political alliance and supported merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Senior government officials and tribal sources told The News that Ayaz Wazir was kidnapped in Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan, and held at an unknown location. There was no information about the people behind his kidnapping, but tribal sources in Wana said that local Taliban militants, headed by Bahawal Khan aka Salahuddin Ayubi, were behind the act.

"The Taliban have their well-established office in Wana and people approach them in connection with their disputes. They call people to their office and resolve the issues. Those who defy orders are picked up and held in their secret detention centres," said a tribal elder in Wana.

Pleading anonymity, the tribal elder of Ahmadzai Wazir tribe said the ANP leader was kidnapped from Wana a few days ago and was freed on Tuesday. He said Ayaz Wazir had contested election for the National Assembly seat on ANP ticket from Wana in the 2013 general election.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate, Ghalib Khan had won the election and become the MNA from Wana. Tribal sources said that Ayaz Wazir had carried out his election campaign in difficult circumstances when ANP and its leadership faced serious security threats and could not properly run their electoral campaigns in the 2013 general election both in settled areas and Fata.

Also, recently all local political leadership of different political parties, except Maulana Fazlur Rahamn's Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, gathered in Wana and formed a political alliance with Ayaz Wazir as president.

The alliance comprising ANP, Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), supported Fata's merger with KP. It unanimously demanded shifting of the offices of the political administration to Wana from Tank district in KP, transparency in utilization of development funds, fair use of funds meant for development schemes and an end to what they termed "harsh and unjustified" taxes imposed by the political administration on all edibles transported to South Waziristan from settled areas of Dera Ismail Khan and Tank.

"The day Ayaz Wazir and other political leaders raised voice for rights of the tribespeople, unknown people kidnapped him. It was a clear message to him and other politicians in South Waziristan and in rest of Fata that there is no place for such activities in the tribal areas," said a tribal elder.

In the meeting, he said, the political alliance had raised the issue of heavy taxes on edibles imposed by the political agent and handing over of development projects such as schools, basic health units and solar tube-wells to influential Maliks along with vacant positions of Class-IV positions.

"An 80 kilogram bag of flour sold in DI Khan for Rs1,800 was available in Wana for Rs3,000 because of this cruel tax of the political agent. Same is the case with other items as a ghee packet costs Rs1,600 in DI Khan and Rs2,500 in Wana," said a tribal elder.

ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain confirmed his kidnapping by Taliban and said he was freed later. When reached on phone, Political Agent Zafarul Islam Khattak denied kidnapping reports of the ANP leader.

"It is possible he might have been held by someone due to local disputes and then freed," he argued. He said the offices of political administration were established in Wana and Tank in 1896 therefore they were following the same rule. He didn't agree with reports about misuse in funds, but neither denied nor confirmed taxes on edibles.