• read top news

Is It Over?

A day before, President, General Pervaz Musharraf`s visit to Kabul, the government and local tribesmen , generally known as Taliban, signed a peace agreement in Miranshah(South Waziristan, ) on September 05. The peace agreement was inked to end longstanding violence in North Waziristan. The Taliban had been following a unilateral ceasefire since June 2006. Shortly before the expiry of the one-month truce, Governor NWFP Lt Gen (retd) Ali Muhammad Orakzai formed a 45-member Grand Jirga to end the conflict in the region,bordering Afghanistan where more than 80,000 troops have been deployed to check militants allegedly moving across the Durand Line.

The agreement contains following clauses;

1. There shall be no cross-border movement for militant activity in neighboring Afghanistan.
2. The government guaranteed not to undertake any ground or air operation against the militants.
3. It bounds the administration to resolve the issues through local customs and traditions.
4. The army will remove checkpoints in the region and tribal Khasadar force and Levy will take over the check posts.
5. The agreement envisages that the foreigners living in North Waziristan will have to leave Pakistan but those who cannot leave will be allowed to live peacefully, respecting the law of the land and the agreement.
6. Both parties (army and militants) will return each other`s weapons, vehicles and communication tools seized during various operations.
7. Jirga comprising tribal elders, Mujaheddin and Utmanzai tribe would ensure that no one attack law-enforcement personnel and state property.
8. There will be no target killing and no parallel administration in the agency. The writ of the state will prevail in the area.
9. Militants would not enter the settled districts adjacent to the agency.
10. The government would release prisoners held during military action and would not arrest them again.
11. A 10-member committee " comprising elders, members of political administration and Ulema " has been formed to monitor progress on the agreement and to ensure its implementation.
12. The government would pay compensation for the loss of life and property of innocent tribesmen during the recent operation.
13. There will be no ban on display of arms. However, tribesmen will not carry heavy weapons.
Here are some questions

1) Would this accord bring durable peace to the volatile region?

2) Political and security analysts say if the said accord had been struck earlier, hundreds of lives from both sides could have been saved. What do you think?

3) Who was the real winner of this conflict, local Taliban or the security forces or somebody else who gained out from this battle.

4) How can the tribesmen assure that no militancy will occur?