The proximity of Peshawar to Bara, where three distinct groups of tribal militants led by Mangal Bagh, Haji Namdar and Qazi Mahboob are active, explains the importance of the new peace agreement. It is primarily meant to rein in militants who could pose a threat to Peshawar. Though exaggerated, the threat to the capital of North-West Frontier Provinces (NWFP) was highlighted by certain government functionaries and sections of the media to such an extent that a limited military operation had to be launched through the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) to evict Mangal Bagh's fighters from Bara town and re-establish the writ of the state.
The government is insisting that the Bara deal isn't a conventional peace agreement like the ones signed in the tribal areas in recent years. It is explained as an 'undertaking' given by a jirga of tribal elders, or Maliks as they are known in Fata, from all Afridi sub-tribes inhabiting Bara to abide by conditions dictated by the government. It is as if errant tribal chiefs are accepting their past mistakes and giving an undertaking of good behaviour in future.
One would have to wait and see if the Afridi tribal elders headed by Malik Amal Gul, who is from the Malikdin Khel sub-tribe, are strong enough to force the powerful militias made up of committed militants to abide by the terms of the 14-point undertaking. A similar undertaking was given by tribal elders to the government last year in Bajaur Agency after consulting militants led by Maulana Faqir Mohammad. We all know what happened to that undertaking. Militants in Bajaur are now among the most radical Taliban elements in Pakistan. They have set up their own Shariah courts, publicly executed Afghans and local tribesmen that they accuse of spying, occupied girls' schools and converted them into madrassas and attacked pro-government tribal elders. The undertaking is a forgotten document because the tribal elders who promised to abide by its terms are a threatened lot living in perpetual fear.
However, there are some merits in the Bara undertaking. The undertaking has been given by around 20 tribal elders, two each from the Afridi sub-tribes. The jirga that negotiated the terms of the undertaking with Khyber Agency's political administration and the Lashkar-i-Islam commander Mangal Bagh, now based in the remote Tirah valley and embroiled there in a battle for turf with the rival Ansarul Islam militant group headed by Qazi Mahboob, comprised tribal Maliks from all the Afridi clans inhabiting Bara area. As is being claimed, Mangal Bagh had given his word to the jirga to abide by the undertaking. The responsibility to ensure that he doesn't violate the undertaking now rests with the tribal chiefs, among them elders from Mangal Bagh's own Sipah sub-tribe of Afridis.
The tribal elders undertook to pay a fine of Rs 30 million if the undertaking was violated and agreed to hand over 10 tribesmen and 25 AK-47 (Kalashnikov) rifles to the government as surety. Government officials are claiming that the 26 militants, who were among 92 tribesmen arrested by the FC during the Bara crackdown, would not be freed. Instead, they too would remain in government custody along with the 10 tribesmen that the jirga has promised to surrender to the administration, to guarantee implementation of the terms of the undertaking. The remaining prisoners, all innocent people who get picked up in any crackdown by law-enforcement agency after an incident, were being released.
It is hard to believe that Mangal Bagh, the bus driver-turned-militant commander, would abandon his 26 men now in government custody. Therefore, one would have to watch out as to the mechanism adopted to eventually let go his detained followers. Intriguing things happen in Fata and it is often difficult for outsiders to understand as to what is going on in the vast tribal borderlands where only the roads and government buildings fall under the so-called administered area and the rest is unadministered and allowed to function under the traditional Pakhtun customs and traditions known as 'riwaj'.
The government succeeded in getting the Bara tribes to give the July 10 undertaking after the punitive military action by the Frontier Corps. The action was launched on June 28 and it involved clearing Bara town of militants and pushing them back so that citizens in Peshawar no longer felt threatened. Some of the structures used by the three militant groups were also demolished during the FC operation. The tribal elders have undertaken to destroy the remaining militants' bases in Bara. That these buildings would be rebuilt and used again as bases is a different matter. It is not a secret that houses of militants have been demolished in almost all military operations in the tribal areas but after every peace accord the affected families are compensated to enable them to rebuild their homes.
The fact that only one militant was killed resisting the FC action raised eyebrows. Critics dismissed it as an eyewash and wondered as to why Mangal Bagh and none of his lieutenants were captured. Eight other tribesmen were also killed during the operation in Bara when the house of the Amr Bil Maruf wa Nahi Anil Munkar organisation head, Haji Namdar, was hit by a mysterious missile. Namdar blamed the United States-led coalition forces for the airstrike. The relatively fewer casualties and the decision by all three militant groups not to resist the FC troops also aroused doubts about the seriousness and genuineness of the operation.
One has to admit that Pakistan's increasingly independent media now wants real action and is becoming bolder in asking questions. Less action and small number of casualties doesn't really satisfy some members of the media. Also, as in the case of the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa, most of the media first pushes the government and the military to take tough action and soon afterwards starts objecting to the methods and tactics used during the operation. It thus plays right into the hands of foreign powers that demand military operations in the country's tribal areas and object to peace accords.
The Bara undertaking, or the previous peace accords in Fata and Swat, certainly have shortcomings and aren't easy to implement. But then the military option too has been tried and found wanting. There is no better option in the Pakhtun tribal society than the jirga to resolve conflicts.
However, the task of jirgas become difficult if a group of people, such as those led by Mangal Bagh, are allowed to organise and proliferate. Mangal Bagh and the other Bara commanders had a free run as long as they confined their moralising activities to the Khyber Agency and fought bloody battles against each other. Belatedly, measures were taken to tackle them when Mangal Bagh gained enough power to intrude into Peshawar city and villages and abduct people. Though he is now bound by the undertaking given by the Afridi tribal elders, it is difficult to believe that the likes of Mangal Bagh could be reined in fully.
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