Daily Times

Pamphlets attributed to a little known Taliban militia called Shura Waziristan appeared in North Waziristan tribal district on Friday, threatening elders and other civilians to cut ties with security forces and intelligence agencies.

The pamphlets, a copy of which is available with Daily Times, said that the security forces and the Taliban who have surrendered to the authorities should leave the area. It warned tribal residents to end their contacts with state authorities.

The outfit mentioned in the pamphlets, whose main leader was identified as Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who is expected to be hiding across the border in Afghanistan, also claimed responsibility for recent targetted attacks in which several non-violent civilians were killed.

Similarly worded pamphelts circulated in the region a couple of weeks ago as well, warning tribal people to avoid visiting government officials in North Waziristan. They were not claimed by any outfit, however.

The residents of the restive region were also warned through pamphlets in the past to not send their girl children to schools and other education institutions.

Tribal elder Muhammad Alam says that security situation in the entire North Waziristan remains unsatisfactory. He says the new government should take stern action to enhance law and order in the district.

The North Waziristan region had witnessed a military operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2014, in which hideouts of terrorist outfits and their collaborators were targetted. Only recently, the authorities managed to complete repatriation of most of the displaced families, after it apparently regained a foothold in the region. However, this year has seen a number of targetted attacks in the region in which several civilians were shot and killed by unidentified gunmen. Perturbed by these attacks, the non-violent residents of the region held a sit-in in Mir Ali town in May this year, demanding proactive measures by the authorities against Taliban militias of all stripes.

Published in Daily Times, September 8^th 2018.