ISLAMABAD: “Are we not Pakistanis,” Noor Rehman Dawar asked rhetorically. But to the surprise of many, shouts of “No” rang out almost immediately from the back. Many turned around to look and saw a large contingent of people from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), nodding in agreement.

These were the scenes at the National Press Club on Thursday, where a panel discussion on ‘War, Terrorism and the oppressed: The Role of the Left’ turned into a discussion about the deplorable way the state was treating those who had been displaced by the military action in North Waziristan.

Organised by the Awami Workers Party (AWP), the discussion saw a great deal of cynicism with the military’s tactics and motives in North Waziristan, as well as criticism of the one-sided way the media was reporting on the fallout from the operation.

The discussion featured talks by defence analyst Ayesha Siddiqa, AWP leader Aasim Sajjad Akhtar and journalist Mahvish Ahmad, as well as accounts by those who had escaped the fighting in North Waziristan.

Ayesha Siddiqa, known for being an outspoken critic of the military, chose her words carefully, saying, “The way the operation is being conducted may not be the best way to hunt terrorists.”

One of the questions we need to ask ourselves, she said, is whether this operation will lead to a long-term solution to the problem of terrorism in the country?

“There is an impression that following the brazen attack on the Karachi airport, the government was forced into action. But there have been bigger attacks, such as the ones of PNS Mehran, Kamra or GHQ. Why wasn’t the establishment jolted into action then?”

She then asked a series of tough questions which she said must be answered in order to get a better understanding of what this operation entails.

“Did the Uzbeks who attacked Karachi airport not have local help? Does the army even want to combat the terrorists? Have we forgotten about the terrorists being bred in our own cities and bazaars, in Bhara Kahu, Lahore or Tarnol?”

Al Qaeda, she said, was not stupid. “They know they will have an easier time hiding in Karachi rather than North Waziristan,” she said, adding, “This is a major operation in name only”.

Aasim Sajjad Akhtar was even less forgiving. He opened his speech by saying, “I definitely support the military operation, but it should have started from Muridke.”

He said that the operation was being carried out in a far-off place, removed from the lives of most people, which is why stories from there did not tug at the heartstrings of those living in other parts of the country.

“This operation poses an existential problem for the state, as it had to decide who is citizen and who is a subject,” he said, referring to the draconian Frontier Crimes Regulations that are still in force in the tribal areas today.

Noor Rehman Dawar, a member of the Miranshah jirga in North Waziristan, told the audience the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had initially ordered that refugees be put up in government schools. But after they settled down, the government ordered them to evacuate the premises.

This, he said, was indicative of the general attitude of all provincial governments towards the refugees from North Waziristan.

Mahvish Ahmad opened her discussion by talking about media coverage of the operation. A content analysis of stories about the military action in most major dailies, she said, overwhelmingly quoted only Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) as their sole source. People on the ground or eye-witnesses were quoted only 10 per cent of the time, she said, adding “A similar trend is visible in the coverage of the operation in the foreign press as well”.

She regretted that journalists were not allowed into North Waziristan and that there was no way of independently verifying ISPR’s accounts of the number of terrorists killed. “Even the army physically entered the theatre only on Wednesday, so I think even they didn’t know what the situation on the ground was before that,” she said.

Ms Ahmad recently visited the government camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Bannu. She shared the story of a woman who had walked three days and two nights on foot from Miramshah to Bannu. “Two of her children, a son and a daughter, died of exhaustion on the way there. There are also reports that her husband, who stayed behind, may also be dead,” Ms Ahmad said.

A short film titled ‘Voices from Waziristan’ was also shown at the event. The film documented Ms Ahmad’s trip to Bannu and featured interviews with officials from the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions, the Fata Disaster Management Authority, as well as scores of eye-witness accounts and testimonies from refugees floundering at the camp.

“The concern for the fallout from the operation is limited to settled areas; nobody cares about the well-being of the people of Fata who are directly in the line of fire. Media coverage has dehumanised Fata for the rest of the country. The epicentre of this violence is not Fata or KP, but right here in Islamabad. This is where the decisions were made for which we are suffering today. The people should not be punished for the mistakes of the state.” --Asfandyar, student, South Waziristan.

“In the past, the state tried to sidestep its responsibility to protect its citizens by giving these militants free passage, but they realised too late that their tactic wouldn’t work. The Taliban move from agency to agency: from Tirah to Kurram and from Kurram to Khyber, every time it’s a new operation. The media must end its blackout of the tribal areas and the military should allow reporters in to the see the situation firsthand.” --Hasan Turi, student, Kurram Agency.

“Before the operation, our people came together and decided to act against the Taliban on our own. Local militants also supported the indigenous action and we went to the corps commander and KP governor with our suggestion. They agreed to give us 15 days to get these elements out, failing which, we were promised time to evacuate. But the operation was announced ahead of time and our people had no time to leave with dignity.” --Noor Rehman Dawar, jirga member, Miramshah.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2014