Parachinar blasts: a criminal negligence and a ‘deep conspiracy’!!!

Parachinar blasts: a criminal negligence and a ‘deep conspiracy’!!!

By ALI HUSSAIN

Photo: facebook

The recent twin blasts in Parahinar, the headquarters of Kurram Agency Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), is yet another sheer criminal negligence on the part of the local political administration and Kurram Militia, a part of the Frontier Corps (FC).

The incident of terrorism in the holy month of Ramazan, responsibility for which was claimed by a so-called Ansaar ul Mujahiden (a local militant group), killed more than 50 innocent local Pakhtun tribesmen of Shia sect of Islam while injuring 150 others, has been tried by some circles to call it part of the sectarian strife and once again dump the issue in a clod corner.

Parachinar, used to be called 'a paradise on Earth’, a predominated by Turi and Bangash Pakhtuns tribes belonging to Shia sect of Islam with some small Sunni tribes. Historians have described Parachinar a very significant part of Pakistan due to its strategic and geographic location on Pak-Afghan border, the Durand Line.

In 1893, during the rule of AMIR Asif Rahman Khan Bangash of Afghanistan, a Royal Commission for demarcating a boundary between Afghanistan and the territory of British governed India negotiated terms, agreeing to the Durand line. Two parties camped at Parachinar.

From the British side the camp was attended by Sir Mortimer Durand and Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum, Political Agent Khyber. The Afghanistan interest was represented by Sahibzada Abdul Latif and the Governor Khost Sardar Shireendil Khan, representing King Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.

The strategic location of Parachinar is also important that it situated on a neck of Pakistani territory south of Peshawar that juts into Paktia Province of Afghanistan. It is the closest point in Pakistan to Kabul and borders on the Tora Bora along a beautiful chain of Koh-e-Safaid [White Mountains], starting from Eastern Afghanistan to deep North-Western Pakistan, glorifying the beauty of the region with snow through out the year.

The area has referred ‘very sensitive’ for sectarian clashes in the media but the ground realities are other than. It is an established fact that people of Parachinar are more educated with high education rate among the females than any other tribal region but have been remained the victim of discrimination of every successive governments.

Political agent, the local administrator, is the sole ‘authoritarian king’ under the notorious Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR), who decisions could not be challenged in any law court of the country. Similarly, there is also no audit of the political administration and corruption of billion of rupees goes unchecked every year.

The recent bombings which claimed 50 precious lives was also result of the criminal negligence that occurred because of the administration dispute between the political agent (PA), a civilian officer and commanding officer of FC, a serving colonel of Pakistan Army.  

The PA has recently stopped supply of fuel to FC deployed on the check posts in and outside Parachinar city which forced the latter to stop checking on the entry points hence providing an opportunity to the militants to sneak into Parachinar and target the local Shias.

The administration dispute at this critical stage at a part of tribal areas, which has recently recovered from a four-year long clashes between the local tribes and militants, and allowing the terrorists to successfully undertake the terror incidents, have triggered an intense debate among the locals, terming it a deep conspiracy.

The ‘conspiracy’, which is now talk of the town and many of them are openly accusing the country’s premier spy agency as evident from the social networking pages, questioning its role. 

In order to remove the sense of alienation and clam the anger of the locals, it is high time that the federal government and other state institutions should undertake measures on war-footings before it’s too late, as the local have already lost more than 2,000 precious lives during the imposed war against them in 2007 that led to a four-year long blockade of Parachinar by armed militants.