Carrying an AK-47 rifle is both a passion and a compulsion for 17-year-old Shahbaz Khan, an activist of the Tauheed-ul-Islam (TI), a so-called peace committee in the Bazaar Zakhakhel area of Landi Kotal tehsil in Khyber Agency.

Shahbaz abandoned his schooling under pressure from the local leadership of the TI; they wanted him to augment its fighting force.

“Keeping an automatic rifle is a passion because every young man in our area possesses at least one such weapon for personal security,” he told me. “Family feuds are rife in Bazaar Zakhakhel. And it’s also a compulsion out of fear of an armed conflict with the Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) [proscribed since 2008], our arch-rival led by Mangal Bagh,” he explained while fetching medicine for his mother from a pharmacy in Landi Kotal.

The remote locality of Bazaar Zakhakhel, predominantly inhabited by the Zakhakhel tribe, has been a battleground between the TI and the LI for almost five years since the creation of the former. It parted ways with the latter when LI activists killed a respected Zakhakhel cleric, Maulana Mohammad Hashim, in March 2010.

“Schools and health centres closed down and the entire region became a no-go area for outsiders,” Shahbaz said. “The rival groups would not trust anyone coming from the outside, fearing spies.”

Schooling for girls is still taboo while boys are encouraged to get themselves enrolled as ‘volunteers’ of the Zakhakhel Tanzeem, as the Tauheed-ul-Islam is also known, since it requires more men to match the LI fighting force.

Back in 2005, a group of outlaws — who were wanted by the local political administration in a number of murder, theft, car snatching and kidnapping for ransom cases — welcomed Mangal Bagh and allied themselves with the LI in order to ward off any action against them by the local administration or the security forces. The village of Gogrina became the new headquarters of LI after its members fled from Malik Din Khel in Bara, when their base was destroyed in mortar shelling by security forces.

“The intimidating policies of LI chief Mangal Bagh transformed the overall mentality and general behaviour of almost the entire local population into a reactionary and extremist lot,” another local resident, Gulab Jan, said. “The public execution of rivals had become a daily routine while the entire population was required to follow the edicts pronounced by the LI chief, no matter how cruel and inhuman they were.”

The killing of the Zakhakhel cleric in 2010 and the subsequent parting of ways by the Zakhakhel tribe and Mangal Bagh did not bring any relief for the residents of Bazaar Zakhakhel; the new armed outfit, which enjoys the tacit support of both the local political administration and the security forces, continued with the LI-style policies of intimidation, coercing local residents to fight by its side. “In the process, we have lost nearly 400 young fighters as we have no other productive occupation,” Gulab told me.

Reportedly, Tanzeem activists detain anyone on the slightest suspicion of spying, keeping them in private jails where the detainees are subjected to third-degree torture to get them to confess.

“The people of Bazaar Zakhakhel live under constant fear, despite the fact the LI has been completely wiped out of the region and the TI holds complete sway,” said Shah Jehan Afridi who recently arranged a sporting gala — though under strict vigilance by armed Tanzeem activists.

“Educating their younger generation is not a priority for the people of Bazaar Zakhakhel. Almost 90pc of the local students abandon their studies at the primary level. There is no one who holds a bachelors or masters degree, and there are just two matriculates in the entire region.”

Nowhere in any part of Bazaar Zakhakhel can women be spotted without a male companion; even then, they are veiled from head to toe. People from outside the region are required to take permission to enter from the local political administration and the local leaders of the TI. “The local residents cannot freely express themselves, even to outsiders, as they are closely monitored by armed Tanzeem members who monitor every locality,” Shah Jehan observed.

The youths of the area are inclined towards sporting activities, but can’t exhibit talent due to the absence of the required facilities. “Our idea of holding more sporting activities in the area was not welcomed by the Tanzeem activists and therefore we had to abandon future plans,” Shah Jehan continued.

The region is very backward, with very limited business and economic opportunities. Most residents rely on the smuggling of foreign goods from across the Afghanistan border; transporting contraband to Jamrud and Peshawar is their only source of earning. The younger generation is mostly employed with the Tanzeem for a meagre monthly stipend of between Rs3,000 and Rs5,000. The region seems to have fallen from the frying pan of Lashkar-i-Islam into the fire of Tauheed-ul-Islam.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2015

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