Taliban Facilitated Elections in Waziristan!

In North Waziristan, the government sought the help of the militants to conduct peaceful polls

By Mushtaq Yusufzai

The Taliban in North Waziristan tribal agency facilitated the Feb 18 polling, where the tribespeople, unlike the rest of the tribal regions, evinced a keen interest in exercising their right to vote.

Almost a day earlier, in the militants-dominated North Waziristan Agency, the government had struck another peace deal with militants with the hope of restoring peace to the militancy-stricken tribal region.

In the peace deal, the government and tribal militants, who prefer to be called Taliban, had pledged to work together in future for maintenance of peace and resolving disputes.
The militants, on Dec 17, 2007, had announced a unilateral ceasefire and then extended it almost five times when the government reciprocated accordingly.

A senior militant commander on condition of anonymity said that the peace truce was signed in the grand 'jirga' where the militant commanders, tribal elders as well as government officials were present. He said that it was almost the same agreement which had been signed on Sep 5, 2006, between them and the government.

The government had almost made up its mind to reschedule polls in the adjacent North Waziristan after postponing the election on NA-42 in South Waziristan due to the mass migration of the Mahsud tribespeople to distant Tank, Dera Ismail Khan and other parts of the country as a result of clashes between security forces and Baitullah Mahsud-led militants.
Later, the government announced to conduct elections in North Waziristan but declared all the polling stations there the 'most sensitive' ones and suggested extraordinary security measures for holding free and fair polls.

Keeping in view the security concerns in the region, the government sought the help of the militants in conducting the election in a peaceful manner.

A senior government official said that the task was given to the Taliban after the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) and Khasadar force or tribal police personnel expressed their reluctance to provide security to the polling staff deputed in the remote and the most sensitive areas.
Tribespeople from parts of North Waziristan told TNS that not a single security personnel was sighted in almost all the 10 subdivisions of the volatile tribal region, including Miramshah, Mirali, Shawal, Data Khel, Ghulam Khan, Spinwam, Shawa, Dosali, Razmak and Garyum in the election day. Residents in Miramshah, North Waziristan's regional headquarters, said that militants were the ones who conducted the polls and provided security to the voters.

People felt it was primarily that reason, the presence of Taliban, which encouraged the already terrified tribesmen to come out of their homes and cast their votes.

"It seemed more like jubilation here. The people enthusiastically participated in elections and there were no signs of fear as the well-armed militants were deployed everywhere in and outside the polling stations," said Mohammad Salimullah, a tribesman while talking to the TNS by telephone from Miramshah.

The residents said that they felt a threat from the militants before the elections, but when learnt that they themselves were part of the game then everyone came to the polling station.

"It was the day of the militants and they proved themselves more capable than those who were supposed to do the job," said Haji Gul Halim, a resident of Dande Darpakhel town, near Miramshah.

During the polling, witnesses said, heavily armed militants were seen patrolling the streets and thoroughly searching voters before entering the polling stations.

"In some of the polling stations, militants, even briefly detained people for allegedly violating the Taliban's code of conduct which they had set for the election," said Mohammad Rahman in Mirali town, the second biggest town of the agency.

He, however, added that the Taliban were later seen releasing the detainees and giving them advice to help the people elected a sincere and pious representative. Interestingly, when the polls finished, militants informed the local political authorities that their job was finished and that they should collect the ballot boxes.

"The ballot boxes were then taken in armoured personnel carriers (APCs) to Miramshah and the name of the successful candidate was announced," said a government official, but wished not to be named.

16 candidates were contesting the election for the lone National Assembly seat of North Waziristan Agency (NA-40). Except for a few, like PML-Q's Ajmal Khan, who served as federal minister in the past, and an

independent candidate Abdul Qayyum, the majority of the contestants belonged to Maulana Fazlur Rahman's Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F), but only Maulana Nek Zaman, a former pro-MMA MNA from North Waziristan, was JUI-F nominee on NA-40.

The remaining candidates, including Aurangzeb, Haji Kamran Khan, Fazal Subhan, Mufti Sadeequllah and Nisar Ali were JUI-F dissidents and decided to contest when the party refused their nomination for the election.

Some of them are considered to be very close to the militants, including Abdullah Shah, who belongs to a banned outfit Al-Rashid Trust, Haji Kamran Khan and a few others. Now some of the losing candidates had started raising questions over this unique trend of involving militants to hold elections.

They have accused the government of allowing militants to help elect their blue-eyed candidate, Haji Kamran Khan in the polls.

They said that the militants organised a huge rally in support of the winning candidate and fired shots in the air when Kamran Khan was declared the winner.

(Coutesy The News)

My Comment: This report of cooperation between Taliban and the Government of Pakistan in Waziristan suggests that if there is enough will for peaceful co-existance, peace might not be so elusive an ideal, after all. Indeed, it suggests that while US and Taliban may remain irreconcilable, the same may not be true for Pakistan and Taliban. In the interests of the people, both parties can, and should, arrive at some reconciliation. Pakistani state, on the other hand, would do well to learn from history and keep itself out of that difficult region; above all, it would do well to spill less blood, there and everywhere else.

(http://pakistanmartiallaw.blogspot.com/2008/02/taliban-facilitated-elections-in.html)

Voice from Waziristan

Khalid Bhatti

Today on 28th October, 2007 I woke up to the horror stories of killing and beheading of thirteen people in Swat, Pakistan that occupied the front page of “Gulf daily News, Bahrain”. Depressed and dejected, I did not know what to do except calling one of my friends from tribal regions to sound him about about the current situation there. I called my friend whose name we can assume to be Atif as disclosing his real name can result in his premature and involuntary journey to the next world. We went to the same school in Dera Ismail Khan and he comes from a well respected family of South Waziristan, the area that have become famous all around the world for all the wrong reasons.

out about the current situation there. I called my friend whose name we can assume to be Atif as disclosing his real name can result in his premature and involuntary journey to the next world. We went to the same school in Dera Ismail Khan and he comes from a well respected family of South Waziristan, the area that have become famous all around the world for all the wrong reasons.

After exchanging usual pleasantries, I was taken back by his narrative of horror that ordinary people are facing there. I will reproduce our discussion for the benefit of readers, which almost took the form of an interview. I have tried to keep his style of narrative intact so that the readers can judge the situation themselves. Further, these are the feelings and opinions of my friend and I do not have any other source to verify them, though I have never found him anything but an upright and sincere person.

Me: Atif! What is going on in the tribal areas?

Atif: Yar (friend), you are talking about tribal area. Even the settled areas of Tank and Dera Ismail Khan (settled areas adjacent to South Waziristan agency) are not immune from Talibanization. Ordinary people are suffering at their hands as well at the hands of Government Forces. Killings are the matter of routine now, and there is sense of fear among all people.

Me: Who are these people?

Atif: Yaraji (O friend), these people are Taliban. Their leaders are the people who were part of Taliban in Afghanistan, and they have recruited a large number of local youth.

Me: Are they local or from other countries?

Atif: There are very few foreigners, and they just live as guests; they do not involve themselves in local politics and keep to themselves. But the Taliban faction, who is creating trouble, is all local.

Me: Local youth? How they have joined them?

Atif: Actually, the youth do not listen to anyone, anymore. They have been brainwashed to the extent that even if father or brothers of these Taliban try to convince them, they reply by branding the father or brother as “munafiq” (Hypocrite). If pressed further, they even do not hesitate to kill the family member who confronts them. The whole social fabric has torn down.

Me: Who brainwashes them?

Atif: Taliban, who somehow have the idea of bringing the entire world to the folds of Islam. They have found these idiots in tribal areas, who can be bent to do anything due to their stupidity in the name of Islam, though they do not have even the slightest idea regarding the basic tenants of Islam. The ranks and files of Taliban comprise of various youth sections of societies including the petty thieves, thugs, unemployed and fanatics. No one can touch them and they roam around freely in the country.

Me: What is government doing about it? After all, army is deployed in the area?

Atif: Yaraji, even a simpleton like me understands that it is the government itself, which is responsible. They have allowed them to grow to show the world that there is problem in these areas. Sometime, to show the world they attack them and then go about shouting about it. They do not even hesitate to sacrifice their own poor soldiers in the process. Tell me, if ISI is not helping them, then how come they have all the latest weapons except tanks and armored vehicles. Now, they have even acquired some armored vehicles also after kidnapping army convoy and are roaming around in it. Almost every single Taliban commander, however small and insignificant he may be, possesses four wheelers and roams around with the escort of bodyguards. Part of the money that is coming to combat terrorism is actually used to help them.

Me: So, the ISI is behind that?

Atif: Yes; most definitely they are. They even have suicide training camps in Waziristan where they train young boys from the age of twelve to sixteen. They brainwash them and make them believe that this is real Jihad, and when they will die in their cause, they will go straight to Jannat.

Me: What the tribal elders are doing about it?

Atif: What can they do; traditionally they were respected and obeyed but in new situation they are totally helpless. Those who have tried are made example for others. ‘un ko baqiyon kay liyay nishan-e-ibrat bana diyaa gaya hay’. Just imagine, when Imam of Ka’ba said that suicidal attacks are haram, even he was branded as “munafiq”. As I told you, they do not listen to anyone, anymore. Alims (Islamic scholars) cannot even confront them; remember, what they did to Moulana Hassan Jan, whose only sin was that he was openly opposed to suicidal attacks.

Me: Once, you politically belonged to Moulana Fazl-Ur-Rehman. Does he have any influence?

Atif: That was in college days, and he cannot do anything. He is also afraid of them. Few days ago, on the occasion of Eid, when people went to greet him, he did not come out of his residence, because he was not sure about who is friend and who is not among two to three hundred people who went to greet him. His brother’s house was recently attacked by rocket fire.

Me: So no one can oppose them?

Atif: Yara ji, you reckon yourself. The things I am telling you, I cannot say in open, because if I do, I am sure that my headless body will be found in two or three days; and this is Dera Ismail Khan, so called settled area. The situation in Tank is worse than that. You remember Sheeraz (not real name), whose relative was kidnapped for ransom in Tank by Taliban. Yaraji, our heart bleeds for what is happening. When some Talib is killed most of the time he is not from the leadership, but is some poor person’s son or brother. Even at the funeral, parents cannot mourn their misguided dead sons as Taliban highjack the funeral and project the death as the death of a hero. When some person of armed forces is killed, he is also some poor soldier struck like us in this bloody situation.

Me: What is the reason that youth join Taliban?

Atif: Yaraji, most of the youth is not educated, and even those who are educated are unemployed because of no economic opportunities. Now, in this scenario, if one knows that he will get money to sustain himself and his family with the added benefit of becoming so called true Muslim, what do you think he will do?

Me: So, they get paid?

Atif: Yes, they get money to sustain themselves. ‘Chai paani chalta hay unka’.

Me: Where they get money from?

Atif: Yaraji, what do you think this money for war on terror goes to? And look, what we have due to them. Nowadays, even the banks in Punjab refuse to open a bank account for us when they come to know about our origin from the identification paper.

Me: Is your family okay?

Atif: No; I have to resettle with all of my family to Dera Ismail Khan and Tank. But these areas are not immune also, as even here they can pick anyone at will and the body is found after few days. People are so much scared that now they don’t have to kidnap them anyone. They just sent a ‘parchi’ (epistle) ordering to go and meet someone and no one dare refusing to go as otherwise whole family bears the brunt. Four, five of our own near ones have become victims (he did not elaborate here, even when pressed). Bas yaraji dua karo kay Allah hum per raham karay - Just pray that may Allah have mercy on us.

At this point, I was not able to continue the conversation and I changed the topic. He asked me when I am coming to Pakistan, and told me that he will himself come to Lahore to meet me, as he cannot invite me anymore due to the situation, and that’s when my eyes moistened as I cannot believe to hear this from my Pathan friend, who are famous all over the world for hospitality.

Frankly speaking, at this moment, I do not know what to write anymore, except remembering my younger days in Dera Ismail Khan and one of my visits to tribal areas with a wedding party (“barat”) when we went around dancing at the beat of “Dhol”. I think it would be a very long time till we are able to hear the beat of “dhol” and voices of joy again in those areas, if any at all.

(http://www.chowk.com/articles/12844)