The provincial government of KPK and the federal government are presently locked into blame-game over the situation in Tirah. While the KPK government and leaders of the ruling party are crying hoarse from every convenient roof-top that the security forces were carrying out military operation in the area and the local residents were being forced to leave their homes putting the families in great distress, the federal government and the security forces are vehemently denying any proper military operation in the area. Their position is that only intelligence based operation (IBOs) were being carried out against the Kharjis like in other areas of the country and the people leaving the area were going voluntarily as per their traditional seasonal movement out of the area during extreme conditions in winter. They further claim that the provincial government has all along been on board in the consultation process and the arrangement that was agreed to deal with the Kharjis.
I have talked to a number of local journalists as well as security sources to ferret out the truth. The security sources categorically deny military operations like Swat and North Waziristan that were carried out in the past, maintaining only IBOs were being conducted to eliminate the Kharjis. During the last year 75000 such operations were conducted by LEAs including police, intelligence agencies and Army. These IBOs have proven very effective as far as taking out terrorists and their facilitators are concerned. During last year 2597 kharjis were liquidated, the highest number ever in a calendar year. LEAs have further honed their efficacy by related tactics, technology and procedures. These operations are also desirable from the perspective that they exclude the possibility of collateral damage and sufferings of the people. So full-fledged military operations are not an option.
Tirah is infested with Kharjis supported with terror economy of drugs and its political patrons which is an undeniable reality. Reportedly 12000 acres of land are under poppy cultivation in the area. Therefore the strategy of IBOs has been adopted to deal with them. According to authentic bureaucratic sources in the KP government a local Jirga, military representatives and KPK government authorities met in last September to evolve a strategy to deal with the Khrjis living forcibly within the populace to avoid collateral damage, eliminating the possibility of locals being used as human shields by them as well as thwarting as their attempts to store explosives and IEDs within the population.
Three options were discussed in the huddle which were: The Jirga should engage with the Kharjis and ask them to leave Tirah; Security forces should continue and increase the intensity of IBOs; local population may come out voluntarily and allow security forces to exclusively deal with them.
The Jirga comprising provincial government representatives and other stakeholders engaged with Kharjis asking them to leave the area which they flatly refused in disregard to cultural and pkhtunwali norms. The Jirga deliberated on the situation for a month and thereafter opted for voluntary exit of the population in line with normal yearly migration while the provincial government committed to provide compensation to the migrating people. In this regard Rs.4 billion were also allocated by the government. A friend from Tirah has also corroborated the position taken by the federal government and the security forces saying that there were no visible signs of military operation on the ground because no security and screening posts for checking the people coming in or going out the area have been set up which is must where military operation are launched.
From the foregoing it is quite evident that the security forces at no point forced displacement of the population. It was a mutually agreed arrangement after lengthy consultations. The inference that can surely be drawn from ground realities is that the provincial government and the ruling party were wilfuly trying to distort facts about t situation in Tirah.
The reality is that it is not for the first time that PTI and its government in KPK was lying to complicate counter-terrorism efforts of the state, create confusion about armed forces and facilitate Kharjis. It aligns with perennial propaganda and agenda of the party and its leadership. The insiders also believe that there is another dimension to this propaganda. It could also be a well-thought strategy to use this propaganda as a cover for filching the huge funds meant to serve the local populace.
It is indeed a very regrettable situation. The country is facing an existentialist threat from these terrorists and the situation demands impregnable national unity to ward off this danger. Our armed forces and law enforcing agencies are rendering unparalleled sacrifices to eliminate the scourge of terrorism for which they deserve unqualified gratitude and support of the entire nation. Armed forces in any country enjoy great respect of the nation and no political party is allowed to soil their reputation, portray them as villains like the PTI is trying to do.
There are no two opinions about the fact that our armed forces are the guardians of our physical and ideological frontiers. Any attempt to degrade or malign paint them is tantamount to jeopardizing the state interests and security which is unacceptable.
A peek into the history of Sri Lanka and Italy which faced similar situations reveals that they were able to get rid of the menace through the sacrifices of their armed forces and unqualified support of the nation. It is an issue beyond the domain of politics. Politics in any country is permissible only within the legal and constitutional parameters as well as due consideration for security of the country. There is no compromise on that anywhere in the world.
PTI and its government in KPK need a serious rethink in this regard. It must operate as a normal political party and avoid any confrontation with the state institution or compromising the state security. That is an advisable recipe for the party if it desires to remain relevant to the future political landscape of the country.
