PTI leader opposes move to divide South Waziristan along tribal lines

WANA: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Dost leader Muhammad Khan has condemned a move by certain quarters to demand the division of the historical South Waziristan tribal district into Mehsud and Wazir districts.

Talking to journalists here, he stated that historically South Waziristan had remained the main bastion and centre of the Mehsuds since ages and its division along the tribal lines would amount to the division of the "Motherland".

He furnished tangible facts and figures to justify the unity and territorial integrity of South Waziristan. Dost Muhammad Mehsud believed that the main international trade route, the gigantic hydel power project of Gomal Zam Dam, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor route via Balochistan, Wana, the main revenue generating town and the mineral-rich Gomal valley are all located in the Wazirs-dominated areas. He said creating a separate Mehsud district would amount to economic, geographical, social and political suicide.

It needs a merit mention that the proposed Mehsud district is located in a far-off, remote enclave having no capacity to sustain the population already ravaged by years of military operations.

He feared that any division along tribal lines would ignite centuries-old divisions and enmities among the tribals especially the control over the disputed Gomal valley- on which both the Mehsuds and Waziris lay claim over it.

The PTI leader called upon the Mehsuds to be watchful of such unscrupulous elements who were playing into the hands of invisible inimical forces hell-bent to sow the seeds of hostilities among the tribes of South Waziristan.

He dispelled the impression about the Mehsud Wazir rivalries, adding inter-tribal differences were the results of historical discord fanned mainly by the British based mainly on their policy of "Divide and Rule".

The leader reiterated that all the tribes of South Waziristan, mainly the Mehsuds,Waziris, Suleimankhels, Bittanis and Burkis were bound by a close racial, tribal, and cultural bonds spanning centuries.

The tribal elder set forward a set of demands. He called for the forensic audit of the development projects since 2008 to unearth alleged irregularities committed by various stake-holders, including government officials.

He demanded the National Accountability Bureau probe the issue to award exemplary punishment to the accused. The leader demanded that all the recruitments in the education, health, police and district administration, etc be made through a transparent process, chiefly the Provincial Public Service Commission.

He asked IGP KP to direct South Waziristan district police officer to ensure the protection of tribal customs and traditions while dealing with the tribesmen. Dost Muhammad Mehsud appealed to Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to take a keen interest in the induction of tribal youth into the armed forces to arrest the mounting unemployment among the tribal youth.

Furthermore, he demanded the release of hundreds of tribal youth and called for their rehabilitation and settlement to make them responsible citizens. He called upon the government to honour the pledges made with the tribal people at the time of the merger. He specifically mentioned the promise of 3 per cent NFC share for erstwhile Fata for the next 25 years and quota in the government jobs for 25 years.