EDITORIAL (August 22 2008): In the past also, the Kurrum Agency never had more than tenuous sectarian harmony, but of late the entire region has been turned into a virtual battlefield by the warring Sunni and Shia tribes. The sectarian-based warfare is raging across the entire region, resulting in large-scale killings on both sides.
With Tall-Parachinar road rendered a 'no-go' area for over six months now, the local people are facing acute shortages of food, medicines and other daily needs, triggering exodus of non-combatant population to Kohat and its adjoining area. As if this tragic turn of events was not bad enough, the Taliban have joined the fray with its specialisation of suicide bombing.
Early this week, they not only struck at the family members of a slain local Shia leader gathered at the gate of the Dera Ismail Khan main hospital killing some 32, including half a dozen policemen and injuring many more, but had the audacity to own the crime. Within hours of committing the ghastly crime a spokesman of the Tehrik-I Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed full responsibility for it.
Meanwhile, blood-letting has continued in the troubled Kurrum Agency area; according to latest reports 37 persons were killed in fresh clashes between the Bangash and Tori tribesmen on Wednesday - the day the tribesmen were supposed to have surrendered to the 72-hour ultimatum given by PM's Advisor on Interior, Rehman Malik.
Confusion as how to handle the Kurrum Agency sectarian problem prevails, as was evident from the discussion on the floor of the National Assembly when the issue of the murderous incident at the D I Khan hospital came up on Wednesday.
While the treasury member from the neighbouring district of Bakkhar, Rashid Akbar Khan, accused the government of being negligent and opposition member Sheikh Waqas Akram alleged that the agencies know of the elements involved in the killings, the Advisor hinted at involvement of the proverbial foreign hand. However, he promised stern action against the miscreants now that his 72-hour ultimatum has lapsed.
The Shia-Sunni sectarian strife is not something new in South Asia, but the governments of the day have managed the problem by employing a combination of law-enforcement and persuasive role of community leadership. One would recall President Zia-ul-Haq's prompt arrival in Peshawar to attend the funeral rites of Allama Arif Hussaini which helped defuse the sectarian tension, albeit temporarily, that had begun building up in the wake of Shia leader's murder.
But now that the sectarian strife in Kurrum Agency has persisted with deadly aftermath, that level of engagement by the federal government is not in evidence. What we have seen is low-level interventions by local officials and comings and goings of peace jirgas, which have so far failed to secure durable peace between the warring tribes. To think that his 72-hour ultimatum would restore peace in Kurrum Agency, the Interior Advisor Rehman Malik must be in some kind of trance.
The open involvement of the TTP in the Shia-Sunni sectarian conflict is too dangerous a development to be tackled by force alone. It can spread throughout the country and involve large segments of population. Undoubtedly, if allowed to fester it would tempt foreign involvement also.
It is therefore imperative that the sectarian strife now bleeding the Kurrum Agency be handled with care and commitment; not by use of force alone. Most importantly, the government should involve the country's top religious leaders representing both the Sunni and Shia schools of thought and political parties having religious agendas in creating bridges of understanding and coexistence between the warring tribes.
The sectarian tension in Kurrum Agency draws sustenance, unlike the foreigners-infested Talibanisation, from a very large number of local people. May be the foreigners too are getting involved now but essentially this is a local phenomenon, and should be handled accordingly.
That hate-mongers on both sides of the sectarian divide have begun calling the shots is an unfortunate situation but before it gets out of hand, the peaceful sections of the two groups should be encouraged to come forward and take charge. May be the option of sending in Frontier Corps will succeed but it would be only a temporary solution of the problem. This should be the last resort, only after the options of dialogue and peace parleys have been fully exhausted.
