Operation Zarb-e-Azb, the long awaited military operation in North Waziristan is, they say, almost complete and has been successful. Congratulations! One would have liked to read the list of the known militants killed in this successful operation. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are being repatriated. So, the issue merits some analysis to see where things are headed and how the whole issue of the said operation is being managed. Before the IDPs started actually moving back to North Waziristan – the repatriation reportedly started on March 31, 2015 – a detailed dialogue between the military and the tribes took place. The central issue remained how to maintain peace in the Agency in the aftermath of the operation. The government (read military) wanted the tribes to take that responsibility. According to the Social Compact Waziristan, 2015 – the document the government says the tribes have signed but the tribes deny – the government has pledged to undertake development activities in the region. That is the least important part of the said compact. The more important part is the one in which the tribes are assigned the task of maintaining peace in Waziristan!The tribes are being made “collectively and individually” responsible for any breach of peace emanating from the return of militancy. This is mindboggling. As a student of political science, one has learnt that the state has, as its primary duty, to provide security to its citizens. One wonders if the Pakistani state considers the tribes as citizens. If the answer is in the affirmative, then how can the state abdicate its duty of provision of security?Since the start of the operation, the people of North Waziristan have lived in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in very difficult conditions. They have some horrible stories to tell. While on the move out of Waziristan, when the government gave them short notice to leave their homes, hundreds of thousands of them walked on foot to reach Bannu, the nearest settled district 50 kilometres from Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan. Several infants died of hunger and thirst in that scorching heat. Several pregnant women gave birth to babies on the roadside between Miranshah and Bannu.Despite all the hardships that these people suffered, they were happy about the future, a future in which there would be no Taliban and other foreign militant groups, a future where they would not have to pay extortion to these groups. The state of terror and humiliation would come to an end, they hoped, and they would no longer have to see mutilated bodies on the roadsides killed by militants for ‘spying’. They also hoped that when the operation was over, they would be offered handsome amounts to rebuild their homes and restore their businesses with. They had a rosy picture of the future and that is why they did not protest much over their multiple humiliations and slights over the course of the operation.Their hopes have been dashed to the ground now when they see the state telling them that they are being allowed to return to their homes on the condition that they fight the militants and maintain the peace, in the absence of which they are threatened with dire consequences, including the cancellation of their national identity cards and passports. According to reports appearing in the media from time to time, each IDP family will get Rs 200,000 ($ 2,000) for his/her partially damaged home and Rs 400,000 ($ 4,000) for homes that have been destroyed completely. Tribesmen, despite the lack of economic opportunities and income, are used to living in spacious homes. Each family has a member living in the Middle East. Many of them have built large concrete mansions with the money sent home, mansions worth tens of millions of rupees. Imagine: $ 2,000 or $ 4,000 is just not sufficient for even small repairs to their homes. Therefore, most of the tribes from Waziristan consider this move by the government to be a slight. Operation Zarb-e-Azb seems to be doing more damage than good in the long term as far as people’s sentiments towards the Pakistani state are concerned. The Pakistan government needs to get wiser and serious, and manage post-operation affairs more prudently. It must take serious measures towards restoring the dignity of the tribes, which has been shattered by the army operations. These measures should include the government making sure that shattered homes are restored to their original condition, the tribes are given peace of mind by the restoration of peace and security, slashing the infamous Frontier Crimes Regulation, extending fundamental rights to the tribal areas and taking measures for the economic development of the region. Anything less than that might lead to more and more Zarb-e-Azbs with unpredictable consequences. The writer is a team leader at Salook Research, Resource and Training Centre, Islamabad. He can be contacted at ilyasakbarkhan@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @ilyasakbarkhan