PESHAWAR/KHAR – As a large number of people in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) have started migrating to safer places fearing an army operation, the Political Administration has come up with an assurance that no operation is going to be launched in the area.
But panicked residents are hastily leaving the area despite officials repeatedly insisting that the army has no immediate plan to launch an offensive in the volatile region, considered a stronghold of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaeda operatives.
The Political Administration also denied the reports of exodus. Saying that clamping of curfew in some parts of the agency was a ‘routine action’, it asked the people to stay calm. But thousands of people have already fled in recent days and more are considering moving out, locals and officials said.
At a grand tribal jirga, the Utmanzai tribes and the Taliban also decided to cross over into Afghanistan in case of the operation, which they said would be in contravention of the government agreements with the local tribes.
In the bordering Bajaur Agency, where the security forces were fighting the militants, who had crossed into the area from bordering Afghanistan three days ago, another 20 militants and one soldier was killed. The Sunday’s fight started when dozens of militants attacked an anti-Taliban militia post, an official said.
In addition to the dead, ten militants, four security officials and three members of the Salarzai Qaumi Lashkar were wounded on Sunday in the border area of Batwar in Salarzai tehsil of Bajaur, local administration and residents said. Jahangir Azam Wazir, a local government administrator said that four soldiers, six militiamen and 38 militants died during the fighting on Friday and Saturday.
Although the army has fought Taliban militants across much of the region it has so far withstood American pressure to carry out a full-fledged operation in North Waziristan. But media reports this month suggested that the army has finally decided to cleanse that area, after high American military officials held a string of meeting with Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and ISI chief visited the US.
Rumours intensified early this week after a spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) told media that it had received “an exclusive intelligence report” about an offensive in North Waziristan. In an email sent to the media, spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said the campaign was to be launched on August 26 and would last one month.
But government and military officials have taken to local radio, asking people to remain calm. “This is a peaceful area with a peaceful atmosphere. The government has no plan to launch any military operation here,” a radio announcement heard by local residents said.
“Thousands of people have so far left the area, they are fleeing their homes due to the fear and rumours of a military operation,” Saifur Rehman, a government official in the main town of Miranshah said. Tasleem Khan, another government official confirmed the evacuation.
Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders North Waziristan, said that thousands of people have reached several districts in his area.
To allay the fears, NWA political administration said that the curfew at Bannu-Miranshah road, Nalwara Mandi was a routine action. Earlier, two days a week curfew remained clamped for the safe passage of army convoys, however, now only on Sunday curfew is imposed. It said that the curfew would remain in force from 5am to 6pm.
The tribal jirga held at Islami Madressah Nezamia in Edek village near Miramshah was attended by about 1,500 maliks, members of local Taliban Shura, religious figures, members of a peace committee and tribal elders. Prominent among the participants were chief of a peace committee, Maulvi Gul Ramzan and Mufti Saddiqullah who addressed the Jirga and discussed various options in case operation is launched.
“We will migrate to Afghanistan, if Pakistan launches any military operation,” Maulvi Abdur Rehman, a religious leader who presided over the tribal Jirga said. The jirga decided that Karzai government would be approached for this purpose.
But the Jirga also requested residents to stay at home until there an operation is really launched. They asked the tribesmen not to leave their homes for the time being. A committee of the elders was constituted for making contacts with the government, army and political administration.
The jirga alleged that government is not adhering to the peace agreement signed between Utmanzai tribe and government in February 2007. They accused authorities of harassing tribesmen for no reason, and complained that law enforcement agencies treat tribesmen very roughly at checkposts, which the jirga said was also in violation of the agreement.
The jirga asked the government to abide all conditions of the peace agreement. They said that the peace agreement was still intact but if operation starts, the people of North Waziristan will migrate to Afghanistan. The speakers claimed that law and order situation in NWA was far better than other parts of the country.
In Bajaur, officials said that a group of militants from the Afghanistan’s Kunar province entered the mountains area of Batwar along the Pak-Afghan border and they started firing with heavy weapons over the houses of the anti-militant tribal elders, posts of the local peace committees and the forces.
“The security forces and volunteers of the Salarzai Laskar have retaliated the attacks with artillery, mortars guns rockets, Gunship helicopters and others heavy weapons were also being used in the fighting,” the officials said.
“The movement of the security forces and the laskhar is continued towards the border areas in the tehsil Salarzai and the region would be cleared soon form the militants,” they said, adding that the forces have took the control of the area which was being used by the militants for the attacks.
Meanwhile dozens of families vacated their houses and sifted to the safer places. “So for more than one hundreds families have migrated from their houses due to the clash between the forces and the militants,” a local resident said.