A Separate Tribal Province
By Dr Ghayur Ayub
London, UK
Describing Pashtuns on April 26, 1903 at ShahiBagh Peshawar, Lord Curzon said, “Pathan is a curious mixture. He is a man of war but he is also a born trader.” He was talking about Pashtuns’ trading capabilities and comparing them with the other races of India.
Had he gone in detail he would have mentioned that Pashtuns lived their lives on three platforms. First, their culture which is broad based and applicable on all Pashtuns living anywhere. Second, their custom, which is narrow based and changes from region to region. Third, their religion which is Islam engraved in their bones.
Unfortunately, religion is mixed with culture and customs creating social, moral and political dilemmas. The traditional theologians took advantage of this amalgamation and used it as a firing tool in social, moral and political fields.
These three platforms are important when deciding about having a separate tribal province. Besides, there are other issues essential for good administrative needs, such as communication links, having a capital city, good education, and proper health facilities to run the new province effectively. On the map, the province will look like a restless snake lying between Pakistan and Afghanistan with a population of 320,7095.
After 9/11, FATA became the most dangerous region in the eyes of the world. The public opinion in Pakistan was not different either and the area is considered the epicenter of terrorism. Against this background, the government wants to take away its century-old buffer status between Pakistan and Afghanistan and bring it in line with other provinces of the country.
A committee was constituted under the leadership of MrSartaj Aziz. He worked hard under the most difficult circumstances and came up with many recommendations including its amalgamation with KP. I went through the document.
Two prominent Pashtun leaders, MaulanaFazl Ur Rehman from KP and Achakzai from Baluchistan opposed it despite the fact that neither of them belongs to FATA. Apparently, Maulana Sahib wants to see it as a separate province keeping his religious angle in mind. While Achakzai is known to support an autonomous region called Greater Afghania which is akin to the wishes of those Baluch leaders who are striving for an independent Baluchistan.
Let me take some of the issues mentioned above.
Communication infrastructure means road, rail and air links. When we look at the serpentine-shape map of FATA we see no road links between the agencies. If someone wants to travel from one agency to another, he has to go to KP and re-enter the required agency. It means that if the government wants to listen to either Maulana Sahib or Achakzai it has to create a proper road network connecting all the agencies. Easy? Not really. The financial cost will be stupendous, almost unbearable.
Then comes the rail track. The only rail track in FATA runs from Peshawar to LandiKotal and that too remains non-operative. So, a separate Tribal Province will be a province with no train services. Train is the cheapest mode of communication and for transporting goods in Pakistan. Gilgit Baltistan doesn’t have a rail link either but that is substituted by the CPEC. Not all agencies are to benefit from CPEC. Will it be easy for the federal government to lay rail tracks in the new province? I don’t think so.
Then comes the air link. FATA doesn’t have a decent airport worth the name that could accommodate big commercial planes. A new province with no decent airport? It would need at least one airport in its capital city for big commercial aeroplanes. Could the government afford to build one?
This brings me to the next important point of deciding on the capital city. I can’t think of any city in FATA which could be made the capital. The most prosperous and populated agency - The Khyber - doesn’t have its capital. The political agent lives and controls the agency from Peshawar. Similarly, Aurakzai agency is controlled from Hangu. All the agencies have small towns with poor infrastructure but no cities. So, it will be the only province with no capital city worth the name. Even if the government decides to select one of the towns as the capital city, the question would be which town? Every agency will fight tooth and nail to make its headquarter the capital city. And I tell you it will not turn out to be a minor dispute. It could lead to a war-like situation. The government wouldn't like to have a new war on its hands.
Now let us come to the health sector. There is not a single hospital worth its name in FATA. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto wanted to build a medical college in Parachinar and constructed a hospital for the purpose in the mid-seventies. Gen Zia ulHaq transferred all the funds and built the Ayub Medical College in Abbotabadusing those funds. I was the first consultant surgeon posted to Agency HQ Hospital at Parachinar in 1979. It was a very well planned hospital in those days, but I saw it in decline because, the then governor, Gen. FazalHaq ignored it completely, freezing most of its funds. The federal government has to build a hospital or two before making FATA a separate province. Can it afford the expenditure during the present financial crunch? I leave it to your imagination.
It’s the same story when it comes to education. Except for a quality educational institution at Razmak run by the army, FATA doesn't have a good educational institution. All the colleges are imparting substandard education. As a result, all the well-to-do people send their children to Peshawar or Islamabad. Moreover, there is not a single university in FATA. With such educational backwardness, will the government spend enormous amount on upgrading colleges and building a university or two in the new separate province?
And finally, let's not forget the sectarian conflicts between the agencies, the most prominent being in the Kurram and Aurakzai agencies where Shias have a large population. After 9/11, major clashes occurred between Sunnis and Shias spearheaded by the clerics of pro-Saudi Deobandi sect and pro-Iran Shia sect respectively. Shias do not feel secure even in FATA which is under army control. How could they live in a separate tribal province run primarily by an anti-Shia establishment? The clashes will escalate leading to an bloodshed not seen before.
If the government listens to Maulana Sahib or Achakzai, it has to develop proper infrastructure, build hospitals, medical colleges, education institutions, and universities. Recently, Maulana Sahib quoted a decision by the Tribal Quami Jirga opting for a separate province. I don’t know whether Maulana Sahib knows that there are hundreds of Qaums living in FATA. How many Qaums took part in that Jirga? Does he know that most of these Qaums don't see eye to eye on the premise of being ‘Tarboor’? Tarboor actually means cousin but in tribal culture it is considered as bitter opponent or even enemy. Can he imagine what would be the state of a tribal province where the inhabitants of one agency consider the inhabitants of other agencies as their enemies?
The existing dislike between KP and Punjab will look like a ‘NokJok’ between two lovers. I am sure Maulana Sahib knows about this unless he is looking at it from a religious angle. But, then, that too is not very rosy keeping sectarian hate in view.
There is Persian proverb which says, ‘Gham Na Dari, BuzBekhar,’meaning if you don’t have a problem buy a goat. A new independent tribal province is like buying a goat.
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