The mysterious killing of eighteen tribesmen in Bara, Khyber Agency and the recent killing of three innocent tribesmen including two young girls in helicopter shelling in Mirali on Thursday morning have put question marks on the part of government and the media organizations as well. About two days back 18 people of Bara, Khyber Agency were killed and their bullet-riddled bodies were found in dilapidated conditions in front of Dogra Technical College Bara. It was not confirmed who killed them and why but the relatives of the dead protested in front of the Governor House along with the dead bodies of their dear ones. The Peshawar police used tear gas and water cannons and baton-charged the peaceful protesters hailing from the tribal area of Khyber Agency. The dead bodies were shifted in a police truck to morgue of local hospital and the protesters were dispersed by using force.
A day after the Bara incident, gunship helicopters started shelling over the villages of Hasso Khel, Mussaki, Khushhali and Haider Khel in Mirali Subdivision which resulted in killing of about three people while left more than half a dozen injured. Those who were killed included a girl from Hasso Khel village whose age was told as 11 years, another girl from Mussaki village who was reportedly eight years old while an old man was shot dead on Mirali bypass road while his nephew was seriously injured. The tribesmen in Mirali after the incident closed down all the markets in Mirali bazaar and observed a sit-in near Mirali tehsil building which was continued till filing of this report on Thursday evening. The protesters demanded of the authorities to tell them why the innocent women and children were targeted inside their houses in an unprovoked shelling.
They said if there were any terrorist hiding in the areas, the government should target them instead of targeting the innocent people. They have announced to continue their protest and mourning for three days and observe shutter down strike in Mirali and Miranshah bazaars to record their protest over the shelling.
There are two aspects of these incidents to be taken in consideration.
Firstly, since the day the war against terror has been incepted after the 9/11, the killing of the tribal people in one way or another has become a routine matter. If an American high up is visiting Pakistan, the killing of tribesmen in drone attacks or through other means was an ordinary practice especially in the former dictator Musharraf’s regime. If there is an attack over the government installation or on the security forces, the revenge is often taken from those tribesmen who have nothing to do with this dirty game of war on terror. Mostly women and children are the victims of the both the warring factions — the military and the militants.
The question here is why the blood of the tribesmen is so cheap? Is there blood thinner than the other citizens of the country or they are of lower status than the rest of the countrymen. Is their loyalty to the state is suspected or they have committed any kind of heinous crime for which they are being punished for the last one decade.
Again they are not given the right to protest, the right to express and the right to speak. The incumbent government imposes governor rule over the sit-in of Hazara community in Balochistan but uses force and water canons over the same kind of protesters in Peshawar. Are the tribesmen having no right to speak about the atrocities they are suffering from? Or they even more downtrodden than the Hazara community?
Again the killing of the innocent girls in Mirali seems that FATA has become practically a hell for its residents and the concept of a peaceful life for a common man has become a dream.
The second thing to be worried for is that the same kind of behavior is being kept with the tribal people by the media organizations, especially the electronic media. The media gives full coverage to incidents of relatively less important incidents but ignores to more important events from FATA.
In fact, those incidents are given full coverage which are in the interest of the US government but the injustices and the cruelties over the tribal people are neglected which in our opinion is a nothing less than a journalistic crime.
We often say that all men are equal in the eyes of media but a citizen of Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar are more important than that of the tribal areas and it is a sour reality which many people will deny but is a fact.
There are other debatable points regarding the injustices with the tribal people but one thing is crystal clear that the discriminatory behavior of the government authorities and the so called free and independent media has annoyed the tribal people and they often put the questions like why they are being ignored? Why they are treated as third class citizens and what is their crime? Is this a crime to remain loyal and ready to sacrifice lives anytime for the state?
If unconditional loyalty with a state is a crime than no doubt the tribal people are criminal and they have been committing this crime for the last 65 years. But if this is not the crime than the common man in the tribal areas needs safety and a peaceful life which is the utmost duty of a state. They have never protested for their basic rights and provision of basic facilities of life but at least they have the right to spend a life where their kids can play without being shot dead from a helicopter or by unidentified militants. And that’s the only demand of the tribal people.
