For Mohmand Agency residents, hope and despair go together

Delawar Jan

GHALLANAI, Mohmand Agency: The arch entrance to Mohmand Agency is made of dazzling white marble. Past this gate, marble gets more visible. Trucks are loaded with raw marble stones in such a large number that they hold up traffic as they rumble down the sloped and curvy road. This tribal agency is home to one of the best marble stones.

However, it was not its best marble that brought Mohmand Agency to the limelight, nationally and internationally. It hit headlines worldwide for a relentless Taliban militancy that has battered its infrastructures and brought misfortunes on its residents.

After military operations that spanned over years, the agency still struggles to regain peace. The rugged and desolate mountains provide a grim glimpse of the challenge to the security forces in tracking down Taliban militants, who surfaced in Mohmand in July 2007. A porous, unfenced and undermanned border with Afghanistan also makes the military campaign against Taliban complicated.   

The main road that winds through unpopulated mountains has been secured. The checkpoints that dot the road are manned by personnel of the Frontier Corps and Khassadar Force. “Where are you going?” asked a young FC soldier, poking his head into the front window of the car at a checkpoint near Gallanai. When told about the destination, the soldier smiled and politely said, “Ok, go.”

But not everyone is happy with them. “I was detained for several days after an attack. They just randomly round up anyone after militant activities and keep them for days. I am sick of it,” said a resident of Qandahari, requesting anonymity as he feared reprisal.   

Though security has improved as compared to previous years, several areas are still volatile. The Monday’s remote-controlled blast in Dawezai area of Pandyali tehsil that killed two soldiers and injured several others serves as a reminder that Taliban pockets exist there.

Locals said security situation in Safi, Khwaizai and Baizai tehsils was still precarious. Majority of the people in these areas had been living in other areas as internally displaced persons, they added. Taliban militants do not show up in any area but carry out activities at night, residents said.

“As night falls, security gets uncertain,” said a local journalist, wishing anonymity. Another journalist who also spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal said security had improved but peace was still a distant dream. “You see blast in Dawezai occurred,” he argued, pointing to the shaky peace.

The level of fear is so high that everyone interviewed demanded anonymity. A resident of Qandahari said night-time curfew was still in force in the area. “We cannot leave homes after 6pm, no matter what emergency we have. We even cannot shift patients to hospital,” he said with a depressing voice.

Displaced people at Jalozai also complain of poor security. “Peace is only on the main road,” a second-year student Farmanullah told ‘The News’ at Jalozai camp. “And that too in daytime,” another man interjected. “You just go to areas away from the main road and see whether there is peace,” Farmanullah challenged.

A man from Qandahari said he returned to his village in April 2011 after being displaced by fighting in 2008 and rebuilt his house in a hope to resettle. “Now I am repenting. Qandahari is insecure,” he said. “I am considering leaving the area again as security and economic problems are multiplying,” he added.   

The scars left by militancy are also visible—destroyed buildings, blown up vehicles and ruined businesses. “Over 8,000 buildings have been destroyed,” a local journalist said. Shops have been destroyed in Khakh and Gandaw bazaars, locals said. Residents said education, health and other sectors had ruined.

Despite continuing problems, residents admit security has enhanced. They said people could travel during day and at night as curfew had been lifted from the main road. “Right here in this market,” a man pointed to shops in front of government offices, “Taliban forced closure of CD shops. But now it’s no more the case.”

There are some signs of political activities also. Flags of different parties including PTI, JI and PML-N could be seen flying at houses. Wall-chalking by political parties is so widespread that sight cannot evade it. “PTI’s youth are ambitious though it doesn’t enjoy much support here,” a man said. “Mohmand Agency has been the stronghold of JUI-F,” he said. “JI also enjoys support,” another man chipped in. The upcoming election is the first after extension of the Political Parties Act to Fata.

Businessmen in the agency are depressed. “Security is unsatisfactory. Most of the people from Safi, Khwaizai and Baizai are living as IDPs. So, who would buy?” said a shopkeeper in Gallanai bazaar. “My sale has dropped from Rs70,000 four years back to Rs10,000 a day now as I cannot supply beverages to the troubled Qandahari, Safi, Momad Gat, Khwaizai and Baizai,” said another businessman in Gandaw bazaar. He said business was also affected by the closure of Mohmand-Nangarhar Road.

A Frontier Corps official said Mohmand Agency was ‘under control.’ “As such, there is no safe haven and no no-go area. Militants cannot show up,” claimed the official, who requested anonymity. He said Taliban militants sometimes sneaked and carried out attacks. “Our search and cordon operations against them also continue. We carry out intelligence-based targetted actions against them,” he said.     

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Jalozai Camp--a forced abode for IDPs from Bajaur

Delawar Jan

JALOZAI, Nowshera:  Hamza rolled his beautiful eyes in sheer innocence as he cuddled to his father’s leg. He wore a sweater and a winter cap but his angelic face had turned rough due to biting cold. The little boy did not understand what his helpless father, Musafar Khan, was discussing. “Hamza was born here at the camp and now he has turned three years old,” his father said, indicating years-long stay at Jalozai camp which was established to provide temporary shelter to people displaced by military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata.

“Two other of my children were born in this camp,” said the father of eight, worrying that the tented village was turning into a permanent abode for them.

Hamza’s father might be missing his native village and the old peaceful days, but the adorable child had opened eyes in tent and played in the streets of this makeshift village. For him, this is the world he knows. No nostalgia!

Musafar Khan was displaced from Bajaur Agency’s Charmang area by fighting in August 2008. Others returned but 1,340 individuals from Bajaur are still in the camp of 81,086 people. Data says that 311,540 IDPs are off-camp, mostly from Khyber Agency.

Musafar Khan braved sweltering summers and chilly winters for five years in tents, yet he doesn't see life as IDP coming to an end any soon. It depresses him and others that no-one in this country is concerned about their unending plight. He says fighting and subsequent displacement has ruined his life, even turned him old untimely. It drew laughter from people around him when the man with a long white beard said he was 40.

“This card will prove I have grown old prematurely,” he showed his national identity card. Unbelievably, Musafar who was pictured for the card in 2009 had black hair and moustache and was really 40 years old as indicated by his date of birth. “Life in this camp has turned my hair and beard grey,” he said in harsh voice.

Musafar has not been alone in the camp since 2008. A large number of people from Bajaur and the bordering Mohmand Agency have been cooped up in tents at Jalozai camp for five years. They did not expect they would live for so long in tents, and they do not want to live here for years more. But probably the choice is not theirs.

Ajab Khan has probably understood it. With mud mortar, he was erecting a wall of broken bricks to protect his tent from chilly wind and to prepare for a longer stay. The 23-year-old young man said he had got married at the camp and had now a child.

“We are living here because we are extremely impoverished,” said Ajab who lives with 30 other family members. “My house in Loisam has been turned into a pile of rocks and now the government disallows us to reconstruct it,” he alleged.   

Statements of other residents of Bajaur who were interviewed at the camp verified his claim. The security forces have stopped them from rebuilding houses and growing crops on their agriculture lands, they said. The IDPs said income means had been ruined as the security forces had destroyed businesses and barred locals from cultivating lands.

“I ran an electricity hardware store in Loisam bazaar but that has been flattened now. So, I have no business,” said Gul Badshah. “There is no electricity. No water. No facilities. So, it’s pointless to go there,” he added.   

Some families from Mohmand Agency could also not return in the last five years. The security situation in Mohmand is still unpredictable particularly in Safi, Khwaizai and Baizai tehsils, said residents interviewed at the camp and in Mohmand Agency.

“Our house is undamaged but Qandahari is still dangerous to live in,” said Farmanullah at the camp, though official data claim ‘all Mohmand Agency IDPs’ have been repatriated. He was a 7th grader when his family left Mohmand but now he is a college student with a light beard. His father’s general store was reduced to rubble in military operation, and now he works at a kiln.

The overstayed IDPs complain of being deprived of ration. The authorities have stopped giving them ration despite knowing that they have no or irregular jobs, according to uprooted people from Bajaur and Mohmand. “I used to work on my fields but have never laboured for a wage. Today, I have the only option to labour for money,” Ajab Khan said.

The displaced people said they have run up huge debts in order to meet expenditures. “The camp life deprived me of Rs50,000-60,000 savings and two tolas of gold. Now, I have borrowed Rs80,000,” said Musafar Khan, who said he has currently no job. Ajab Khan owes Rs56,005.

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Humayun Khan--from a tailor to head of PTI in Kohat

Delawar Jan

PESHAWAR: Humayun Khan is familiar with a clatter sewing machine he operated for his whole life and only knows the art of making clothes. His managerial skills are limited to running a two-member tailoring shop he opened three decades ago after working for years as daily wager.

Now he has been tasked with a difficult job. The tailor, who is commonly known as Mayo Pehilwan, has been elected to lead Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) in Kohat district, thanks to intra-party election. Running the Khyber Pakhtukhwa’s most popular party, according to polls, in a key district demands from him to exhibit leadership skills. The new job will also pit him against the affluent and heavyweight political leaders that are working for other parties.  

A PTI leader said it’s an alarm bell for the status quo politicians and a clear message what workers wanted. The poor man has now a message for the people of Punjab and Sindh: “Reject landlords and traditional politicians.” The new district chief of the PTI for Kohat has asked others to follow the suit elsewhere by electing sincere leaders.

“The people of Kohat have set an example. People in Punjab and Sindh should also elect sincere people to bring change,” he told The News by phone. Humayun Khan defeated a ‘wealthy and strong’ candidate Malik Munir Bangash by securing 199 against 177.

The intra-party election result in Kohat surprised many, not only in Kohat but also in the province. This is what real intra-party election can do, he and other PTI leaders said. Every morning, he and one of his three sons leave home for the ‘Kohati Tailor’ shop in Gilani Market in Kohat. He has been associated with the profession since the “early days of Ayub Khan’s martial law,” when he started to learn tailoring at the age of six after dropping out in 2nd class. He did not disclose his daily or monthly income but said he managed to make both ends meet.

Humayun Khan said the PTI workers who had fielded him for the post of Kohat president had supported him financially. “I did not spend even five rupees on my election campaign. Workers raised funds for the election contest,” he said.

PTI decided to hold intra-party election last year and asked workers to choose their leaders themselves. Election at district and tehsil level was the second phase which was marred by violence in some districts. As crucial stages approach, enthusiasm and campaign is picking up among candidates and workers. The party will arrange election for chapters of different regions and the province in February, which will be followed by election for the central leadership.

Humayun said he joined PTI eight years ago. “I had no affiliation with any party till eight years ago. Then I saw Imran Khan speaking to a public gathering in Kohat. His passion and commitment convinced me to join PTI,” he said.

His participation in party activities and sincerity prompted PTI workers to field him for the crucial election. He is happy that he was elected district president of the party, though he is aware of the challenge ahead. “It worries me that running the party and competing other political parties is not an easy job without money. But with committed workers and hard work, we can do the trick,” he remarked. Mayo Pehilwan said he would work for strengthening his party and serving people.

Shah Farman, spokesman for PTI in KP, said it was a harbinger of change in the country. “PTI workers clearly conveyed the message what they want. This shows the workers’ mindset that they could accept an unknown person but not the one with bad reputation,” he said.

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With scars of militancy, Bajaur inching towards peace

Delawar Jan

KHAR, Bajaur Agency: Charred hulks of vehicles, pockmarked structures and ruins of destroyed buildings provided the traces of pitched battles that were fought between the Pakistani security forces and militants affiliated to al-Qaeda and Taliban.

“This is Loisam,” a local pointed to flattened houses on either side of the road. “And here was its bustling bazaar,” he looked towards heaps of mud-stone rubble that jutted out from the ground.

The Pakistani troops swooped on Loisam in September 2008 after the government decided to retake Bajaur from al-Qaeda and Taliban. In this battle, Loisam was completely destroyed. Five years after the attack, the town is today a site of ruins with no signs of reconstruction.

Hundreds of miles away in Nowshera district, the residents have set up a small Loisam in tents at Jalozai camp. “My house in Loisam is now a pile of rocks,” said Ajab Khan outside his tent at Jaloza camp, where he has been living since August 2008. “I go there and just look at the ruins of the house,” he expressed helplessness.

Zarif Khan, also Loisam’s resident, said they were not being allowed to rebuild their razed houses. “Now the security forces suspect us as strangers as we lived outside Loisam for five years,” he said.

Some said they were unwilling to return because they could not run businesses as the bazaar no more existed. The people were also not permitted to grow crops, they added. “We are forced to carry out patrol at night, which we can’t,” Azizullah said.

Sufferings from the Taliban rule and the military operation have seared into people’s memories. However, life in Bajaur indicates that peace is stabilising and the agency is recovering from conflict and violence after Taliban were defeated or weakened.

The security situation has apparently improved so much that all checkpoints are manned by personnel of the Frontier Corps and Khasadar Force. Not a single soldier from the regular army was seen at any checkpoint from Nawagai to up to Lower Dir, an indication that authorities have faith in paramilitary forces and the local Khasadars to maintain peace.

“Taliban can no more show up in villages and towns,” a local journalist said. “Their activities have dropped to nil and the security situation has improved precipitously,” he added. However, some people said security off the main road was still uncertain.

After offering sacrifices, the tribesmen have now started to reap the benefits of improving peace. Farmers work in fields and labourers build roads, people go to offices and students to educational institutions. Even topics of discussion have changed. Taliban and militancy no more dominate conversations as people now talk about electricity crisis, water shortage and chilly weather, an indication that other problems concern people more than security.

Khar bazaar and markets in other towns are abuzz with business activities. “I am doing the best business of my life these days,” said Shaukatullah, who runs a hardware shop in Khar bazaar. “I have expanded my business, yet I run short of many items,” he added. The shopkeeper has noticed a boom in construction section, saying most of the people were reconstructing destroyed houses while some were building new buildings. “My business had ruined in 2007 but now I am reaching new levels, which shows that people have confidence in the regained peace,” he said.

Masood Jan, who runs a store, said his sales had soared by 100 per cent. He said his family had sent one brother each to Peshawar and Rawalpindi for business as it had dropped sharply after 2007. “Now we have recalled both of them, as business has picked up in Bajaur,” he added. The general retailer said previously bazaar would mostly remain closed due to patrol by Taliban and the army but now situation had stabilised.

Road users say the Peshawar-Mohmand-Khar Road is secured for travelling. After the political administration lifted night-time curfew in October last, people travel on this road even at night. “I have been travelling on the road even at night. It’s secured,” said a taxi driver. “After curfew was lifted, we can now continue business late into the evening,” Masood Jan said.

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