Tirah bombing and Kayani’s apology

By Daud Khattak

According to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani on Saturday apologised for the death of over 60 tribesmen in airstrikes in the remote Tirah valley of Khyber Agency more than a week ago.

Although this is not the first time that security forces - in their bid to eliminate the Taliban - have hit civilians, one can say with authority that it was for the first time that a chief of the Pakistani armed forces apologised for something dubbed as "mistaken identity" by the NATO forces in Afghanistan. The apology from the army came more than a week after the tragic airstrikes that claimed the lives of, as per the statement of affected families from Sra Viala area of Tirah, 63 people.

Earlier, army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas had told media that all those killed in the April 10 airstrikes were militants. Kayani's apology is no doubt commendable li, but the key question is whether a five year-old-child would get his labourer father back? Would the elderly parents get their son, the only hope of their old age, back? And would a child who lost his leg, eye or arm be able to continue his/her life as a normal person?

The second major question, and perhaps more important than the first one, is why were the airstrikes carried out and against whom? The answer is simple, and those in power would quickly say that they wanted to target the militants of Lashkar-e-Islam led by a bus-conductor-turned-devote Mangal Bagh and his fanatics. If this is the answer, it leads to another question, more serious and perhaps embarrassing for those spearheading the anti-militant operations: why did the bombardments come in the remote Tirah area? Why were Bagh and his men not targeted when they were operating just 15 kilometres from Peshawar and converted the Bara area of Khyber Agency into their fiefdom while forcing wealthy people to pay taxes, young men to grow beards, wear caps, pray five times a day in mosques; removing tape-recorders from cars and other vehicles, pictures from mobile phones in the name of their "anti-obscenity" drive; and most of the times confiscating the musical instruments and mobile phones or forcing people to pay them a fine ranging from Rs 500 to Rs. 3,000? Bara people had, and even now have, two options: abide by the self-proclaimed shariat of Mangal or leave the area to save their skin. Trying to maintain a low profile or disassociation from all that is happening is not an option even for those once considered the most powerful people there.

According to some unconfirmed reports collected from locals, the warlord Mangal Bagh forced a key political figure from Khyber Agency to pay him Rs 10 million if he wanted to continue his political campaign the last general elections. To the surprise of many, no one in Bara can hoist a flag other than the black flag of Lashkar-e-Islam. If such was the situation, why were Bagh and his men not targeted when they were running a parallel government on the style of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan just under the nose of the administration in Bara less than a year ago?

Another key question that arises in the aftermath of the death of innocent civilians relates to the reaction of the tragedy. Would the people of Tirah, where family bonds are so tightly interconnected that death in one house is considered death in the whole of the village, ever forget the tragedy in their lifetime? Would the tribal people, known for their ferocity, particularly when it comes to revenge, just stay put or come out with a stronger reaction? Would the tragedy not provide more volunteers to the ranks of Mangal Bagh or those calling themselves Taliban? And last, but not the least, would the growing annoyance among the people of Tirah, located close to the porous border with Afghanistan, not be cashed by the anti-Pakistan elements and forces on the other side of the Durand Line?

A single and easy answer to all the complicated questions is that the net result would be hatred against Pakistani security forces, the government and the country among the affected people, their friends, neighbours, colleagues and people living in their neighbourhood.

As per media reports, the government announced compensation of a few hundred thousand rupees for the families of the victims, but again, would the lollipops offered by the government satiate the wretched people who lost their near and dear ones in the reckless bombardment?

Furthermore, tribal people have to pass through an array of (humiliating) obstacles before reaching the office of the political agent, the king of a tribal agency, to get the money in such cases, or get other things done. Such lollipops, therefore, usually swell the angst instead of having a soothing effect. For the sake of citing an example: the family of a Khasadar who was killed in a suicide attack at the Torkham border in Ramazan last year are yet to receive the full sum of compensation.

The apology by the army chief is praiseworthy, but it would be better for the country, the government and the security forces themselves if this turns to be the first and last apology in this "anti-terror war", where nuclear-armed Pakistan is the "front-line state".