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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