At Pak-Afghan border, people nostalgic about past but happy over security measures

Delawar Jan

BARAWAL BANDI (Upper Dir): A group of senior citizens fondly recollected how people of this border region maintained trade with Afghanistan and walked across the Durand Line unhindered.

Both trade and cross-border movement stopped after Pakistan Army’s deployment on the boundary along Upper Dir following attacks by militants based in Kunar.

The valued mushroom, good quality timber, wool and desi ghee no more reach this region from Afghanistan’s Kunar province that borders both Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts. Afghans, who until recently crossed over from Afghanistan to buy clothes, shoes and food items, can no longer come to Barawal Bandi.

During a visit to the border town recently, one found the elders discussing the past in a poky second-floor room of the bazaar.

“I remember my last visit when I stayed for a night in [Pakistani area of] Karakar and reached [Afghanistan’s] Machbina area midday next day as part of a jirga,” Fazl Hanan said.

Upper Dir has no road link with Afghanistan and people used to trek mountainous paths to cross over to Zorr Barawal, Dolai, Qasim, Batash, Chiragal, Loya Dera, Marano Dabona, Mashango Kass, Barikot and other villages and towns of Afghanistan. Trudged under the weight, mules or men would take goods to Afghanistan.

Apart from mutual trade, tribes on both sides of the border had friendships and relations. Ghulam Muhammad, a 75-year old man, said he had visited people on the other side of the border more than 20 times.

Some tribes like Mishwani and Katani (also called Kohistanis) straddle the boundary and maintained connections. Elders say Mishwani is the major tribe that inhabits Sonai Darra, Nusrat Darra, Bin Darra and Shingara Darra, all situated on the border. Other tribes that live in these areas are Katani, Taran, Swati, Tajak and Bahadar Shahkhel.

The trade and cross-border movement stopped after Pakistan sent thousands of troops in September 2011 to protect the border against incursions by Pakistani Taliban entrenched in Kunar and Nuristan provinces of Afghanistan.

The deployment hardly disturbs people here. For them, their security and the country’s sovereignty are more important. “Had the army not been deployed along the border, the Taliban would have also slaughtered people by now in Barawal Bandi and strutted around its streets,” Fazl Hanan said.

He referred to the June 2011 attack by Taliban that killed 27 police and Levies officials and some civilians in Shaltalo, a border village some 15 kilometres west of Barawal Bandi. In 2012, the fighters loyal to the reclusive Swat Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah slaughtered 17 soldiers deployed on the border.

However, the militants never crossed the border after the deployment and could not launch attacks for 15 months, giving confidence to people that they were now secure. That confidence was shattered by the mid-September attack this year. Fazlullah’s group killed a two-star general, Maj Gen Sanaullah Niazi, in a roadside blast, an incident ‘unthinkable’ for the local people.

The incident disturbed Fazl Hanan and others. “What happened that day was wrong and shocking. The incident caused us bad name and many problems,” he said.

Investigations are underway but it still remains unclear how the attacker(s) managed to stalk the general and kill him. Some officials in Dir speculated that it could have been a ‘coincidence’. These officials see ‘complacency’ behind the decision not to clear the dusty road before the general’s visit. They said a vehicle that carried jammers and led the way was asked to follow the general’s vehicle as it was raising clouds of dust off the road.

Around 40 suspects, according to officials, are being interrogated at a military base but no breakthrough has been reported. An army officer said investigations continued but could not be shared with the media.

The militants, who have escaped military operations in Malakand division in 2009, have built sanctuaries in Kunar and Nuristan provinces and regrouped under their leader, Maulana Fazlullah.

Two weeks after the high-profile attack, calm prevailed in the town of Barawal Bandi and other areas up to Shahikot, a small town some 34 kilometres west of Dir near the Afghan border. A walk by schoolchildren in Barawal Bandi, usual business in its bazaar and normal flow of traffic and construction of houses and roads indicated that routine life had not been disturbed. There was no unusual movement of soldiers or any visible tension.

Shahikot had, however, signs of calm tension. An army barrier stopped vehicles from entering the bazaar as these were diverted to the bypass. As shops continued routine business, with some drying the fresh produce of walnut in the sun, several were closed. Customers hardly figured.

“Troops corralled us near the stream after the attack, but we had no idea about the incident,” said the young Nisarul Haq in Shahikot.

“When we came to know about it and I returned home, my father told me ‘I cannot show you my heart but it’s bleeding’.”

He said soldiers were not tough on them even after such a major attack.

In this hard area, resources with the security forces are limited. As some soldiers have been billeted in government buildings, others live in shops. Surprisingly, the area’s police station was working in a single shop.

Several posts on the ridges overlooked the area, in addition to dozens more that dot the forward areas.