by Ghulam Ghaus
Militants have started interference in the peaceful districts of North West Pakistan in order to expand their sphere of influence. Militants of Swat & Bajuar have started their activities in Upper & lower Dir. Both of these districts border with the conflict stricken Swat. Afghan militants lead by Amir Khitab have been gathered in the Dhog Dara area of upper Dir while the Taliban in lower Dir have gained momentum under the leadership of Hafeezullah in Kalal Darai area which is also very close to Bajuar, a volatile tribal agency of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan. Incidents of kidnapping & murders have also increased in these two Districts for the last six months. The local Taliban are now expanding their activities to these settled areas and as they occupy more and more areas, the Pakistani military gets engaged more in these areas, posing a serious threat to a stable FATA which is inevitable for stable Afghanistan.
Militants in Dhog Dara are trying to terrorize the people of upper Dir. They have established an FM radio channel like that of Maulana Fazlullah of Swat, through which they want to increase the sphere of their influence. Jihadi songs are broadcasted through this FM in order to mobilize the locals to join hands with them. The local sources have told that they have modern weapons of war & satellite phones. They have issued warnings to twelve wanted persons of Maina Dhog area who opposed their interventions.
Akhtar Jan Kohistani, an Afghan official at the present & former BBC employee is also behind the bars of Afghan militants in Dhog Dara. A local Jirga of upper Dir has been struggling for the safe release of Kohistani but the militants have told them that they want Qari Mahiuddin alias Abdullah to be set free if they want Kohitani to be set free who arrested by Pak government. Abdullah is an Afgnan commander & the Pakistani government arrested him in Mardan as a suspected member of Alqaeda. However a local Jirga of Dir upper succeeded the release of Kohistani after three days of negotiation with the Afghan militants in Dhog Dara. They have now handed over Kohistani to the Jirga unconditionally as a result of mounting pressure from the inhabitants of Dir upper who pressurized the militants to leave the area, otherwise they will have to face strict military action from the locals.
The militants in Dhog Dara have challenged the writ of the government in the form of checking the ID cards of the passengers of the vehicles for their opponents on the point of Chenarano, a point on main Dir-Sheringal road, some 30 kilometers away from the district headquarters.
There is also the report of a poster pasted in the main Chowk of Dir Bazar from Tehrik-e-Taliban, warning the barbers not to shave off the beards, threatening the CD shopkeepers to begin another business valid in the Sharia, asking the transporters to lower the fares, warning the vegetable & fruit merchans to lower their prices, warning the police to quit bribery. Perhaps this poster was displayed for gaining the support of the poor marginalized communities with the intention that they can do things which the state cannot do.
incidents of bombing & torching of girls schools in upper & lower Dir have also happened even before the appearance of Hafeezullah in lower Dir & Amir Khitab in upper Dir. The girl’s school of Bibyawar was bombed & destroyed, the girl’s school of Wari was torched, the girl school of Chukyatan was bombed & turned into ruins, and the girl school of Ganori was also destroyed with heavy explosions in the midnight. Lower Dir is also at risk, keeping in view
When the people of Dir upper killed the three Talibans in Nehag Dara area of upper Dir, it boosted the confidence of the people of Dir upper & the resistance of the people of Dir upper to the Taliban was applauded by media & politicians, but suddenly this confidence was turned into ashes when Samin Jan, an ANP leader of upper Dir was killed by the Talibans in Swat. The Taliban also issued threatening pamphlets in main bazaar Wari that Samin’s killing was the revenge of killing of Taliban in Nehag Dara. So very slowly & cleverly, the Taliban gained momentum in upper & lower Dir. Killing of Jamil advocate in Tamergara of lower Dir has also left suspicions in the minds of people, although Taliban has not said that they have killed this man. In a nutshell the people, especially those holding jirgas to check the activities of Taliban in upper & blower Dir have been terrorized. They have been terrorized to the extent that even the MPAs & the MNAs of upper & lower Dir are reluctant to mention Taliban while talking to media.
Now the government of the NWFP has started to negotiate with Maulana Sofi Muhammad of Tehrik-e-Nefaz-e-Sariat-e-Muhammadi( TNSM) on Sharia Regulation Act in whole of the Malakand Division & they have succeeded to an extent. But if it happened it will boost the confidence of the militants to such an extent that this small number of militants will challenge the writ of the government of Pakistan in the rest of the country which will ultimately affect America as well in the near future, keeping in view the unstable situation in Afghanistan.
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