WHILE a peace deal to end the violence in Kurram tribal district was signed on New Year’s Day between the warring tribes, the fact that the local deputy commissioner was attacked in the district mere days after the signing shows how difficult the challenge of maintaining calm in this region will be. DC Javedullah Mehsud and members of his security detail came under attack in the Bagan area on Saturday. Reportedly, a protest was underway in the locality, and the attackers were amongst the demonstrators, the KP government spokesman said. Luckily, Mr Mehsud survived the attack and was rushed out of the area. However, the question arises: if the state cannot protect one of its senior functionaries, how will it keep Kurram’s ordinary citizens safe from violence and terrorism?

Fortunately, the peace deal has held despite the attack on the DC, while the KP government has promised to apprehend the perpetrators. Arrests have reportedly been made, while a meeting held to review the situation in Kohat, headed by the KP chief minister, decided that the provincial administration will take punitive measures against those who breach the peace. Notably, it has been decided that anyone carrying a weapon will be considered a militant. It is clear that there are elements in Kurram who do not want to see peace prevail in the district. The state, backed by the local tribes, must isolate and punish these malignant actors so that the fresh cycle of bloodshed in Kurram can be brought to a close.

The recently concluded peace deal offers a roadmap to lasting calm, but it can only work if the state has the will to enforce it, and the local tribes agree to abide by all its points. The primary criteria for calm in Kurram is a need to deweaponise the district, and neutralise all militant and sectarian groups active in the area. This includes keeping a close eye on the Afghan border, from where terrorists can and do infiltrate. Moreover, there must be freedom of movement across the district, and there cannot be any ‘no-go’ areas closed off to certain tribes or sects.

The blockade of upper Kurram has created a grave humanitarian situation, and the state must guarantee the district’s people have access to food, fuel, medicines etc at all times. Also, those who have lost loved ones, as well as those whose property has been destroyed in the recent clashes, must get justice. And the land and water disputes that have long fuelled tension in the area must be addressed judiciously. None of this will be easy in a tribal area which has seen decades of on-again, off-again skirmishes, exacerbated by sectarian differences and geopolitical factors. But the state cannot ignore the suffering of Kurram’s people.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2025