Developing Waziristan

Be it Balochistan or the former tribal areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the level of development is low in nearly all regions that are – given how they have been treated -- quite aptly referred to by some as the ‘peripheries’ of Pakistan. This lack of development is compounded by a volatile law-and-order situation. Over the years, successive governments have made much noise about helping these areas but little has been done to bring them into the mainstream or even provide them half of what little amenities the average Pakistani gets elsewhere in the country. Encouragingly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has quite early on his tenure visited North Waziristan. Checking the right boxes in so far as the language and optics go, the prime minister – accompanied by MNA Mohsin Dawar -- talked about the restoration of peace as the top-most priority of his government, and also about convening a grand jirga of elders of the area in Islamabad to discuss the issues faced by the people of the region.

Lawlessness and terrorism have haunted the former tribal areas for decades. While a lot of financial and human resources were used to defeat terrorism, the threat of attacks always remains alive. More than anything, there has also been a glaring lack of priority given to education, health and other development indicators. Which is why Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s pledge to set up a hospital and a university and to extend the Danish Schools Project North Waziristan is a welcome step. It is hoped given Shehbaz's past record that this will happen fairly quickly.

However, what the former tribal areas need more importantly is a well-functioning educational system whereby all primary and secondary schools are well-equipped and properly staffed. Just one or two Danish schools or a mobile hospital may be a temporary solution but not a lasting one. Former Fata needs a comprehensive development strategy for each district with adequate allocation of funds. The war on terror has been going on for long, thousands of our civilians and soldiers have lost their lives and still the hydra of terror reemerges with new fangs. The solution to many of these problems is socio-economic development on a long-term basis. There is also the need to have a serious conversation with Afghan authorities on cross-border terror threats. For too many years have people from the tribal areas suffered violence, displacement, apathy, and profiling. Leaving a large chunk of the country to under-development, terrorism and a feeling of Otherness has only led to resentment and disillusionment with the nation-building project. This time around, the pledges made should translate into real action on the ground.