A horrifying incident took place in Wana, Waziristan yesterday. Members of the Waziristan Peace Committee killed four and injured 30 Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) workers. This took place when a peace committee member of the Waziristan area tried to seize PTM leader Ali Wazir’s petrol pump. Since he was a pro-people leader, the people came to Ali’s rescue and foiled the Taliban’s attempt to seize Ali’s property.
It is now necessary to question the legal standing of this peace committee. The only thing that it has done so far is to subvert peace in the area. This committee is abhorred by the locals for its numerous crimes. It robs people of their honour, properties and loved ones. It also gets a ‘commission’ from the local businessmen and shop keepers.
The state’s alliances with such entities has weakened its relationship with the tribal people, making them doubt their identity as Pakistanis. It also puts to question the shallow slogans of equality and unity under one flag. The more the tribal try to convince themselves that Pakistan keeps them safe, the more they realise that they are insecure.
The state’s alliances with such entities has weakened its relationship with the tribal people, making them doubt their identity as Pakistanis
The situation is made worse by the complicity of the mainstream media. Instead of referring to them directly, they were called ‘unknown individuals’. Times have changed now though, and even children know who these ‘unknown’ people are. Let alone how the committee was defended by the DG ISPR, which begs the question, is the state even serious about negotiating with the PTM?
In nutshell, the state should rein its armed non-state actors. Inflicting atrocities upon unarmed and peaceful protestors won’t do any good in terms of national integration and unity. Instead, it makes things more suspicious for the general public when it nurses such demons. The viable option for state is to disband these peace committees and start caring for the welfare of its people.
The writer can be contacted at [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, June 6th 2018.