KHYBER: Consensus remained elusive on a proposal to form armed tribal lashkars or village-level peace committees in 12 designated districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the Frontier Corps inspector general (North) and members of the newly formed Area Representative and Development Council (ARDC), along with other notables from Khyber, Mohmand and Bajaur tribal districts, met at Balahisar Fort in Peshawar the other day.
The participants were strictly asked by the head of the newly formed ARDC, Engineer Shaukatullah, not to share details of the discussions with anyone.
However, some of them told Dawn on condition of anonymity that the proposal to form peace committees at village level failed to attract the desired interest and instead drew disapproval.
“The idea of formation of such so-called peace committees was deferredfor more in depthdiscussions while most of the ARDC members and tribal notables expressed their utter reluctance to give any suggestions as such efforts had backfired in the past with a sizeable number of tribal elders and influential personalities falling victims to such misadventures”, a participant explained.
Frontier Corps IG meets members of Area Representative and Development Council in Peshawar
He said that the senior security official appeared visibly apprehensive about the security situation in the 12 designated districts and wanted local tribes and residents to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring security in their respective areas, with active support from the security forces stationed there.
The elder said that stipends for members of the proposed armed peace committees, along with other lucrative perks and privileges, had also been promised, but the proposals found no takers due to the previous unsuccessful experiences with such panels in most of those areas.
He said that though the matter had been left open for further consultations, most ARDC members and elders were not in favour of any initiative that could put their lives in danger, as the proposal involved taking up arms against militants, which they didn’t consider their responsibility.
Another participant told Dawn that matters relating to development projects in the region, strengthening of the ARDC and delegating additional authority to the deputy commissioners of the 12 designated districts also came under discussion.
He said that most of the newly-appointed council members and tribal elders were not comfortable or frank in presenting their demands and suggestions to the FC inspector general and other senior security officials and wanted to maintain close liaison with the respective district administrations.
The participant said that the revival of the erstwhile Fata Secretariat was also proposed by some anti-KP-Fata merger elements but authorities advised them to focus on their new roles as council members for the 12 designated districts.
He said that almost all the council members strongly recommended more powers to the council in order to secure the trust of the people of 12 districts along with putting the speed of development of these regions on a fast track.
Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2026
