“CAN you imagine an armed group asking a destitute person to provide it security? That’s what it’s like for the people of North Waziristan, where people hit hard by conflict have been asked to take the responsibility for protecting law enforcement agencies, their installations and government officials as well,” summarises an Ahmadzai Wazir tribesman regarding the pre-return agreement between the government and the tribes going back to North Waziristan.

The tribes take on this burden under the framework of collective and territorial responsibilities laid out in the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) that apply to the tribal areas. Though the law is considered harsh, the tribesmen have followed the system for over a century. Today, though, they are unhappy with the timing of the agreement requirement, given their own situation.

Also read: IDPs’ return to North Waziristan begins

Since June, the people of North Waziristan have been living displaced lives as a result of army operations in their area against militants. The military claims to have cleared their hometowns, but these people still have a long way to go before their lives can resume normal patterns.

“Don’t say we have been harbouring local and foreign militants,” continues the man, who has borne financial losses in Miramshah as a result of the situation. “We did not bring them to North Waziristan. Like you [the state], we have also suffered. They [the militants] were killing not only soldiers, they tortured and beheaded civilians too.” Pausing, he continues: “Yes, we accept all the responsibilities under the FCR; but don’t put an additional burden on us; the security forces were sent in to rescue people who were helpless.”

The agreement has been signed by many elders, but many of them term the document humiliating. “Millions of people who gave up their honour, dignity and homes for the sake of their country are now being asked to sign an undertaking ensuring their loyalty to the state,” says another elder. “That means the whole Utmanzai tribe’s loyalty to Pakistan is being questioned.”

Signing the Social Agreement North Waziristan-2015 has been made mandatory for those who want to return to North Waziristan. This leaves very little choice for the tribesmen. The government has signed at least 11 so-called peace deals with the tribes and the militants, including the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Customarily, agreements are signed after talks between the two parties, as the government did in Fata and Swat. But this agreement was formulated without consulting the tribal elders. The architects of the deal say that it was based on the FCR and people in general were not delegated any additional responsibilities.

An undertaking attached with the agreement says: “We [the tribal people], being responsible citizens, will remain loyal to the country at any cost and will abide by the Constitution, FCR and local customs.” The agreement adds that people will set up peace committees which will be responsible for keeping their respective areas free from anti-state elements. Armed committees will be registered with the political administration.

But Section 8 of the undertaking says: “People will not organise armed groups. Local people will hand over fugitive Taliban or any other elements involved in anti-state activities to the government and will be responsible for providing protection to the people [employees] of the government.”

“If people could capture militants [by themselves], what was the purpose of launching Zarb-i-Azb?” argues an elder.

In the opinion of Waseem Ahmad, a law expert, the agreement is vague and self-contradictory, and in the presence of the FCR there was no need to ask people to give a further undertaking. He adds that the Constitution and FCR cannot go side by side.

“When the government talks about the duties and responsibilities of citizens, then it is binding on it to extend all articles and sub-articles of the Constitution to Fata,” he explains. “When the government talks about the Constitution in Fata, then it will have to extend the role of the parliament and the Supreme Court to the tribal areas.”

Mr Ahmad believes that there is no provision in the Constitution for citizens to organise private militias or lashkars. The new agreement, he says, binds the people of North Waziristan to raise armed committees in the name of the peace committees. “The ground reality is that the FCR is supreme in Fata, not the Constitution,” he explains.

Senior lawyer Jamroz Khan Afridi also believes that the agreement has no legal status. “In the presence of statutes, agreements don’t carry legal weight,” he comments. “These are pressure tactics and the government is trying to suppress the tribal people further,” he says. The elders of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe plan to convene a multi-party conference in Islamabad on the issue.

Perhaps a positive side of the agreement is the ban on heavy armaments. It specifically mentions that Miramshah, Mirali, Razmak, Dosali, Boya, Dattakhel, Ghulam Khan, Spinwam, Shewa, Khajuri and Esha will be weapon-free areas. Local people will not be allowed to display weapons while travelling on the main roads, and heavy weapons including rocket launchers and machine guns have been banned completely.

Having lived a life of fear of militancy for more than a decade, and having spent a year in a state of homelessness, the tribesmen are under immense pressure once again. Once the military completes its operations in North Waziristan, is it sane to ask a tribal peace committee to protect the area? When is the state going to own up to its responsibility, the tribesmen ask.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2015

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