Jan Achakzai

(Frontier Post) Sakhakot, a small town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, located on the main road that leads to most of the northern areas of Pakistan, and the starting point of Malakand district, is gaining notoriety in crimes like car snatching and kidnapping. There are several complaints made to various media outlets by concerned citizens that Sakhakot is becoming a new hub for illegal activities. For the benefits of readers I am reproducing the letter sent by a victim of the alleged gang in Sakhakot: “It is an open secret in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that, God forbid, if you have your loved one kidnapped or your vehicle stolen, do not do anything, just wait for the ransom demand call from Sakhakot. Yes, Sakhakot is not a very big village in Malakand District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but big enough to host a secretariat of intra and inter-provincial kidnapping rackets. Those kidnapped from Peshawar, Swat, Dir and even other provinces end up in Sakhakot”. The complainant adds: “What are the authori...

(The Frontier Post) India and Pakistan’s foreign secretaries held talks (June 24) to apparently set the tone for the meeting of the foreign minsters of the two countries on July 15. Yet these talks were significant. This is the beginning of a hopefully a lengthy peace negotiations between the two countries. The process comes on the back of Pakistan and the United State’s realignment on Afghanistan and the apparent failure of India to force Islamabad to wind up militant infrastructure in the wake of Mumbai attacks in 2008. India and the US had realigned after Sept 11 attacks in a bid to pressure Islamabad to stop the use of proxies in India and Afghanistan as a foreign policy tool. Of late, New Delhi, however, sensed a new understanding between Pakistan and the US on Islamabad’s possible role in Afghanistan, and felt isolated on the militancy issue—- the prime concern for India in its relations with Pakistan. It decided to directly engage Pakistan to make sure all its huge invest...

The Frontier Post The narratives Washington and other western allies are following is like the Taliban embody Pakhtun nationalism that is hell bent to expel foreign troops from Afghanistan. In other words the Taliban constitute the reaction of Pakhtuns to imperialist US as part of their alienation. As a result of this conclusion, the US and other western strategic thinkers have started connecting the Taliban with Pakhtun culture. Thus the West has nearly given up on efforts to defeat the Taliban. Of course the ideological underpinnings of this policy came from the narratives of these “experts”. In practice this policy means Washington divested its fight against the al-Qaeda and from that of the Taliban and gradually started treating the Taliban as “indigenous movement”. Though it is challenging to get into the heads of these experts on Afghanistan, it is worthwhile to try what they really think about the Taliban phenomenon. It would also help us understand the popular myths the West ha...

(The Frontier Post) Media has rumoured a new strategy that security agencies want to adopt in the Punjab to “deal” with the growing threat of TTP. This strategy includes negotiations with “top leaders” of these outfits and making them responsible to control their “operatives”. As if the attacks on two worship places of Ahmedi sect killing over 100 people, were not good enough to prove that security agencies have lost control of many splinter groups, yet these agencies are now suggesting that “the top leadership” of Punjab’s outfits are in their control (if these media leaks are accurate).  But is it a new shift in Pakistan’s thinking towards dealing with the militancy in the country or is an old ploy to stave off mounting national and international pressure. For now, the army seems to be determined in its efforts to wipe out the TTP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and parts of FATA despite the stiff resistance in areas like Upper Orakzai, and Mamond.  However, it has left untouched th...

(The Frontier Post) A concerned citizen in Peshawar Anwar Jalal who has witnessed the effects of militancy in Swat and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sent me the following questions regarding militancy, Taliban and Pakistan’s foreign policy on Afghanistan. For the benefit of other readers, I am sharing those questions and answers with them.  Q. Do the powers that matter in Pakistan support the Taliban? A. Pakistan believes that Afghanistan falls within its sphere of influence so it needs to have a leverage in Afghanistan. It needs to create a leverage through proxies i.e., elements of Mujahideen or Taliban. Other countries like Iran also maintains influence through proxy in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, in Lebanon through Hezbollah, in Palestine through Hammas, in Egypt and elements of Pakistan’s shia population. China is accused of supporting Naxalite-Maoist insurgency in India to balance New Delhi. India supports Tibet opposition to have a leverage ove...

(The Frontier Post) Russia is concerned at the recently held Jirga for reconciliation and integration in Kabul (June 2-4) for proposing to co-opt Taliban in any future political setup in the post US Afghanistan. The Jirga gave a mandate to Afghan President Karzai to negotiate with the Taliban including its top leadership. Afghanistan is very important in Russian foreign policy. It borders Russia’s near abroad. Moscow wants to ensure that it does not deal with any challenges in the wake of the US forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan. Thus Moscow has started working on securing its interest in the country. On the other hand, the US-Pakistani-Saudi-Turkish axis is seeking, to one degree or another, to facilitate the political accommodation of Taliban and other insurgent groups into the regime in Kabul—- the very groups Moscow is harbouring deep concerns about. Historically, Russia in order to prevent the dominance of Pakistan backed Mujahideen and later Taliban in Afghanistan, was supp...

(The Frontier Post) Since the launch of army's crackdown on TTP, the army's Chief Gen Kayani still enjoys the support of overwhelming number of Pakhtuns. Gen Kayani by retaking Swat and partially wresting South Waziristan and Orakzai from the TTP has proved his credentials as military leader. The government is fully backing the army's campaign to eradicate the TTP from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's other anti-militant, democratic forces, legal fraternity, pro-development community, the media and nascent civil society are behind General Kayani in this anti-TTP drive. The campaign has now nearly gone through a year. The Swat has been retaken, the TTP denied a sanctuary in South Waziristan, and a partial sanctuary in the Orakzai Agency. As a result of the campaign the TTP though not completely knocked down, is on the back foot: the nasty incidents of suicide and merciless bombings have substantially been reduced. The strategy of the army proved that ...

(The Frontier Post) As it were not enough for the problems of Balochistan, Pakhtuns’ targeted killings have started in Baloch-dominated areas of the province. This menace has the real potential to set both communities on the collision course causing strife in the whole province. There are reports that Fazullah Barech, a Pakhtun shopkeeper, was killed couple of days ago in his shop by unknown assailants in Nushki —- the town lies southwest of Quetta. There have been other incidents in areas like Turbat, Mand, Bella, Khuzdar and Awaran where Pakhtuns have been targeted, killed and their property and transports looted. Pakhtun nationalists, led by PkMAP have strongly protested over the killings of Pakhtuns and accused the Baloch militants for being involved in these incidents. They have also blamed Baloch militants for trying to stock ethnic clashes between Pakhtuns and Balochs in Balochistan. So far Baloch militants have been targeting Punjabi residents of Balochistan for what they ca...

(The Frontier Post) I have received many hate mails from MQM supporters after my recent article on situation in Karachi. However, I would like to limit myself responding to comments of Kunwar Khalid Yunus, the member of MQM Rabita Committee. Pakhtuns’ population in Karachi on its surface seems not likely to have made Yunus a happy man as he termed my figures as exaggerated. But independent international observers, some NGOs and sources from Wikipedia, and “Front Line World”-Focus- a report produced in association with the New York Times”, put the number of Pakhtuns around 7 million in Karachi. Besides, the current census offers language choice instead of ethnic choice, hence does not take into account the number of those Pakhtuns who have lost fluency in first language —Pakhtu— and now speak Urdu thus codified as Urdu speaking population. The allegation of MQM that Hazarawals might be involved in the killing of Pakhtuns is baseless. In this regard, I would draw the attention of Yunu...

(Daily Times) The militant infrastructure, regardless of the geo-political rationale for its existence, means Pakistan will continue to live under the spectre of a full-fledged war with India The attacks on worship places of the Ahmedis merely underscored the fact that Pakistan is at war on many fronts, involving religious and ethnic minorities, governance issues, neighbouring countries and the world at large. Let us start with religious minorities. The bigoted state and non-state actors launched a war against the Ahmedi minority in the 1950s. In the mid-1970s, they were declared non-Muslims. Their persecution continued over the coming decades and was eventually enshrined in the law. The Shia minority community has also been targeted in different parts of the country. The recent example can be seen in Quetta where militants are continuously killing the Hazara Shia minority members. There are many examples of prejudice, discrimination and violence against Christians. The treatment to...

(The Frontier Post) With North Waziristan continues to be the last  safe haven of al Qaeda and its its militant allies,  Pakistan is still dragging feet   to quell the militants in the North Waziristan. This has not stopped Pakhtuns  from worrying that Islamabad  may even reverse its decision to take action against the militants. Different media leaks  have rumored of the “intelligence officials” that the army may no take action and instead choose what they call “selective targeting”. The reports said  that “some officials also believe that opening a new front against the likes of Haqqani and Gul Bahadur would make enemies out of well-trained, well-financed groups that are potentially valuable allies when US troops leave Afghanistan” The fundamental challenges impeding the government resolve to take on the militants  includes the presence of Pakistan “friendly” militant warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur- who  is believed  to have ente...

(The Frontier Post) Since the army retook South Wazristan from TTP,there are reports that Pakistan’s friendly Taliban warlord Molavi Nazir is in the hot seat. Molavi Nazir is linked with Al Qaeda and its other allies and is fighting across the border. He controls powerful Ahmedzai Wazir Tribe. There are also reports that following the the army‘s operation Molavi Nazir has given shelter to elements of the TTP. Most militants of the TTP belongs to Masud tribe. Molavi Nazir’s spokesman few days ago complained that the army was conducting an operation against Ahmedzai Wazir tribe under the suspicion of harboring the TTP militants who fled the army operation. He is also not happy for another reason: a US drone attack killed al Qaeda operative Osama bind Ali Abdullah bin Damjan Al-Dawsari on June 3 in South Wazirstan. The drone targeted the home of Omar Khaitab another al Qaeda operative and close friend of Molavi Nazir, and killed him as well. Molavi Nazir may suspect Pakist...