THE evening of September 1 brought news of the Tirah valley bombing, reminding a hapless nation dealing with floods that the war against militancy plaguing the country`s north west is far from over.

At best, the security forces have managed to push back Mangal Bagh`s Lashkar-i-Islam, an outlawed militant organisation, out of Bara and into the remote and mountainous Tirah valley. In fact, in the first week itself in 2009, the security forces claimed that they had demolished over sixty houses of LI commanders and of proclaimed offenders; suspect militants were arrested from various places in Bara and arms and ammunition were seized from militants` hideouts. The residents watched this quietly though anxiously as before the operation, the LI had dominated the Bara region of Khyber Agency, making their lives miserable.

They had been offered some reassurance by the then political agent Khyber Agency, Capt (retd) Tariq Hayat, who told journalists at Khyber House that “Fasadiyan (a reference to Lashkar-i-Islam activists) have to surrender to the administration, they have to abandon armed patrolling in Bara and shut down their illegal FM radio station immediately…lest the military operation would continue till their complete annihilation.”

The promise was welcoming as the militant group had established a parallel justice system -- its member acted as a moral police force that patrolled the area; it punished people and even held them in private jails and it ran an illegal FM radio station. In addition, the moral police force of LI, comprising misguided and unemployed tribal youth, were also notorious for carrying out kidnapping for ransom. LI also controlled routes through which smuggled goods from across the border were brought to warehouses in Bara. Intelligence reports by government departments claimed that LI used to generate millions of rupees every month through these `businesses`. And here too the security forces have had some success; the smuggling routes running through Bara have been blocked.

But still the residents of Bara do not consider the operation a great success nor are they convinced of the security forces` sincerity of intent. Sceptics point out that it is generally believed that except for four lashkar commanders, two of whom were killed by the Taliban, and only two by security forces, the rest of the LI leadership and commanders are alive and entrenched in Tirah.

Similarly, kidnapping for ransom in the three subdivisions of Khyber Agency -- Bara, Landi Kotal and Jamrud -- continue to date. Rough estimates show that more then one hundred influential andContinued from Pagewealthy people have so far been kidnapped and freed only after they paid heavy ransoms.

As a result, Bara residents fear a return of the militants. In the words of a political activist from Bara, who does not want to be named, “Targeted killing, kidnapping for ransom, attacks on government installations have become the order of the day.”

In his opinion, the problem is rooted in the fact that the security forces are still in charge. “The desperate political administration has surrendered its authority to the security forces who are not well versed in tribal customs and traditions,” he said, adding that the political administration had effectively lost its control over Bara.

However, military officials in charge of the on going operation insisted that most of the “set goal” of the operation had been achieved.

In written answers to a questionnaire from Dawn, the security forces have said that “capturing the top leadership of militant organisations has never been our military objective”. The response added that “Objectives which we set have largely been achieved, success of operations should not be linked with the capture of top militant leaders, but it should be judged as per the results achieved.

“Bara is substantially cleansed of militants, illegal FM radio stations closed, confidence of the local population restored along side gradual revival of local peace committees”.

However, the sense of success that the security forces feel is not shared by the tribal elders of Bara; they refuse to raise any lashkar (peace committee) and it’s because of their lack of faith in the state.

“We can see the fate of the leaders of tribal lashkars in Bajaur, Mohmand, Orakzai, Darra Adamkhel and Waziristan,” said a tribal elder on condition of anonymity. “When the political administration itself feels insecure and had shifted its offices out of Bara, when target killing and kidnapping for ransom is the order of the day, how can we dare to raise a lashkar?”

This is not the only reason for the mistrust. People feel alienated also because of the indiscriminate shelling of militants’ hideouts by the security forces which caused civilian casualties.

During search operations, hundreds of local residents were rounded up and kept in interrogation cells for days without any justification. Residents of the agency also complain that the imposition of curfew for the past one year harmed the local trading and business community.

The famous Bara market has not opened since the military operation began and a large number of the local traders have shifted their businesses away. Hamidullah Jan Afridi, the federal minister for environment and MNA from Bara, told Dawn a few days ago that the Bara bazaar would be opened soon as he had secured an assurance from Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Owais Ahmad Ghani.

However, the traders such as general secretary of Bara Tajir Ittehad Said Ayaz have little faith in such promises. He termed the pledge a political gimmick.

Displacement has also caused resentment. According to official reports, nearly one thousand families were displaced and forced to live in camps. Half of these say that they have not been registered by the government and have received no assistance whatsoever.

And where there is a trust deficit between the people and the state, there is also one between the security officials and the political authorities.

The former want the political administration to come forward and fill the administrative vacuum while the administration is accusing military officials of not carrying out the operation well.

“The Orakzai operation was started at the wrong time. Bara should have been our priority and Orakzai could have been left till later, but the military officials ignored our advice,” said an administrative official.