The News [October 18, 2008]

By Hamid Mir

ISLAMABAD: The NWFP Governor, Owais Ghani, has started a new dialogue process in Fata and has struck peace deals with the militants in North and South Waziristan brokered through local tribal elders.

Well-informed sources have revealed that the peace deal in North Waziristan was struck recently with a local Taliban commander Qari Gul Bahadar who holds control in the areas around Miramshah. Another peace deal in South Waziristan was reached with Maulvi Nazir who assured the governor through tribal elders that he will not fight the Pakistan Army and will not allow anyone in his areas to provide shelter to foreigners.

Governor Owais Ghani confirmed these peace deals to this scribe and observed that the situation has improved in the North and South Waziristan following these deals. Qari Gul Bahadar belongs to the TTP of Baitullah Mahsud but Maulvi Nazir is not a part his organisation. He belongs to the Wazir tribe and controls most of the areas bordering Afghanistan including Angoor Adda.

These peace deals have created differences within the TTP resulting in Baitullah Mahsud losing control over militants in North Waziristan. As a result attacks on the Pakistan Army have sharply declined in both North and South Waziristan.

But on the other hand, US drones are continuously targeting areas, which are in the control of Qari Gul Bahadar and Maulvi Nazir. However, an analyst on the US involvement in the region brushed aside the impression that the Americans target those areas where the government makes peace deals. He said the American missiles hit only those militants who are involved in attacks against them.

The governor said past peace deals in the same areas failed because those were signed between the military and the militants but this time he has also involved some tribal elders in the deals.

The governor said the militant groups not willing to fight the Pakistan Army are welcome to talks but some are following a foreign agenda and their objective is just to create instability in Pakistan.

He also hinted at the involvement of the Indian intelligence agency RAW and Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in the destabilisation of the tribal areas. He said the Indians were clearly behind the attacks on the Chinese engineers in Balochistan and now they have cultivated some groups in Fata with the help of their Afghan friends.

He said the Pakistan Army is no more fighting with some ordinary militants in Fata. “We are now facing an insurgency and we have to deal them with an iron fist,” said the governor. On the other hand, Awami National Party leadership has raised some questions about the recent peace deals initiated by Governor Owais.

The ANP leadership is of the view that these peace accords were done with those who want to fight the US troops in Afghanistan and these groups have not abandoned their Jihad in Afghanistan openly.

Some parliamentarians from Fata have welcomed these peace deals and said that after peace accord in North and South Waziristan another peace agreement was reached in Kurram agency between Shia and Sunni communities. All these are positive developments but all the state institutions need to develop coordination with each other to further improve the situation in Fata.

Posted on 19 Oct 2008 by Webmaster