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Nonchalant · #2 Saturday, May 24, 2008

The solution for FATA

Part II

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Muhammad Jan Mahsud

The "war on terror" is the famous "Great Game" . The America, the West, and even many Muslim states are fighting this war against a nonexistent enemy. Yes, there are the Taliban but they were there when the British were engaged against them in the 19th century.

American reports on 9/11 indicate that no one from this part of the world was involved in that attack. It could be Osama Bin Laden, as is alleged, but he is an Arab who was brought in and equipped by the Americans themselves, and now they are chasing the same Osama.

In his article Mr Khalid Aziz has proposed certain solutions for the situation in FATA. None of them will work as these are against the psychology of the inhabitants of the area. The inhabitants can be suppressed momentarily, but they cannot be made to change their mind or intimidated. Anyone living in fool's paradise can think of snatching the gun from a local and give a shovel in his hand to enable him to earn his bread. This is impossible as he does not know any other skill to earn. This is the problem that needs a solution and the solution is not a military one.

The intellect and courage of these people of FATA is undebatable. They can do anything, anytime and anywhere. Come to terms with them, that is the solution. Provide them with leadership, confine the mullahs to their fields of activity, encourage politics, political forces and dialogue. This will give birth to a civil society from whose platform they can find answers to their questions. Empower and recognise the Taliban as a political force and make them responsible in the same way as the MQM was offered a share in the Sindh government. In this way they can prove their mettle, or the history will decide their fate. This is the logical way as the 90,000-strong Pakistan Army contingents deployed there, with support from the NATO, have proved no match to them. As regards the change in the FCR is concerned, it must be brought about without changing its basic concept aand without merging FATA with the NWFP.

The people of FATA love to accept challenges and competition. Provide them any field of competition and they would excel and show the world their worth. They not only compete in target shooting but they compete in dancing too, they are also legendry singers. They have engaged the world superpower along with the NATO nations single-handedly, therefore, they can do wonders if provided the right opportunities.

Providing opportunities to them is very simple. Just announce any sort of training in any trade, they would flock and compete for. They are very fond of acquiring knowledge but the system imposed on them deprives them of knowledge and literacy. If American aid to Pakistan is utilised in the field of human resource development, this will do wonders. For this purpose, it is not necessary to develop standard schools and colleges for them on war footing but to sponsor them and educate them.

An exercise was initiated in this regard, though on a small scale, under which students from FATA selected on the basis of tribal competition were admitted in various reputable schools and institutions of the country. Only a few were lucky enough to get this opportunity of a lifetime. This year, too, a competition has been held, participated by over ten thousand students, but it is yet to be confirmed as to how many students will be accommodated under this programme. This type of education opportunity, if provided on a large scale, would allow the young men currently involved in the violence to develop skills needed for getting decent jobs.

It is interesting to note that against all these odds and hostile environment, the Mahsud tribe in particular owns almost eighty percent of the heavy construction machinery currently operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan. These simple looking people, despite their illiteracy, are always found engaged in all sorts of innovative businesses. If they can do such wonders despite the completely negative environment, they would certainly surprise the world way if provided with the right opportunities.

Courtesy: The News