January 13, 2007	Saturday	Zilhaj 22, 1427

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KOHAT, Jan 12: The Bangash tribe of Thall tehsil of Hangu blocked main roads on Friday in protest against delay in implementation of a commission report regarding a land dispute with the Wazir tribe of the Kurram Agency.

The business community also observed a complete strike, demanding vacation of the land occupied by tribesmen belonging to the Kurram Agency for 50 years.

About 150 protesters, led by elders, put up chairs on the Thall-Kurram Agency road, Thall-North Waziristan road and Thall-Hangu road, causing immense problems to commuters.

They warned to block traffic for five hours daily until the issue of the land was resolved permanently.

They said that hardly the ink of the peace agreement between Shia and Sunni tribes in the Kurram Agency had dried when two more serious issues cropped up creating an impression that the area people would never see good times ever in their lives.

The timing of raising the disputes, which coincide with the peace agreement, is disturbing and has given rise to many suspicious questions in the minds of people.

The Kurram Agency administration has failed to resolve the 50-year-old land dispute between the Bangashs of Thall, the last cantonment on the border, and the Khajal Khel Wazirs of the Palosin area.

Similarly, it had been unable to arrest people belonging to the Nasir Khan group which killed a minor child of its opponent Daulat Khan Wazir group on April 20.

Daulat Khan Wazir had surrendered to authorities concerned sometime back but political authorities in whose jurisdiction Nasir Khan is roaming free are making lame accuses to protect the wanted criminal.

The battles over the possession of land had so far claimed ten lives, but due to the lukewarm response of political authorities to appeals of residents of Thall and the civil administration, the dispute is lingering on with fears of more bloodshed.

The Maliks of Thall demand that the Wazirs who had encroached their 1,200 kanals land should stop further constructions on the land and the administration should demarcate the boundary.

The Wazir tribe had been refusing to abide by old agreements to stop further encroachment on the disputed land which is infuriating the Thall tribesmen.

Some miscreants warned that they would attack the Wazirs in the Kurram Agency and all the responsibility would be on the political authorities.

Now they had given a ten-day deadline both to the Kurram Agency administration and the Wazir tribe to stop further encroachments and to vacate the already occupied land.

Both the tribes are very strong but the Wazirs being in the tribal area had an edge over their opponents, because they can use sophisticated weapons like, mortars and missiles freely.

So far the restraint observed by the Thall tribesmen is giving an ample time to the Kurram administration to resolve the issue amicably as it may not get another chance this time, as evident from the feelings of the Bangashs, and save loss of more precious human lives.

It is hoped that the administration would quickly response to ten days deadline in the best interest of the people of both areas and also disarm the Wazirs till the time the whole matter is peacefully resolved.

The administration only needs will to perform the task because it had unarmed hundreds of terrorists and had effectively controlled smuggling of arms through the border during last three years of war against terror.

The rusted missiles and rockets dumped in the area since the Russian war, which are being recovered every now and then in the area are an ample proof of the success of the authorities.

An inquiry as to why the authorities are not acting despite many applications had been submitted to the chief secretary, home secretary, the governor secretariat and the president can also help a lot to find out the actual cause of delay in the settlement of the issue, the opinion leaders and the nazim of Hangu district demanded.