THE decision of the Shia Turi and Sunni Bangash tribes of Kurram Agency to bury the hatchet and reopen the vital Thall-Parachinar road is a welcome one as the closure of the highway had severely inconvenienced those living in the area. The residents — hundreds of thousands of them — had been cut off from the rest of Pakistan for the past four years, often having to travel from one point to another inside the country via a circuitous route through Afghanistan. They will be relieved by this decision as much as by the promise of rehabilitation — after much bloodshed in the area. Yet we have heard such positive sentiments before, only to see hopes for peace dashed as the violence, chiefly of a sectarian nature and involving the tribes, has been reignited on several occasions. While the influx of refugees from Afghanistan had caused tensions to rise between the clans, matters came to a head with the arrival of the Taliban and their support for the Bangash tribe. Until recently, the road had witnessed countless militant attacks.

The core of the problem is that the security forces have failed to secure the route by neutralising militant groups and have left the area’s hapless population to fend for itself. Trucks carrying food supplies have reportedly been looted and set ablaze by militants while security forces stood by and did nothing. In fact, notorious militants, such as Taliban commander Fazal Saeed, have in the past sworn to uphold peace pacts — but to no avail. The latest peace move appears to be a renewal of the 2008 Murree agreement, although it remains to be seen how far this will be upheld and whether or not the state delivers on its responsibility to ensure security for the Kurram population, and not allow militants to sabotage the peace deal yet again.

In fact, the state must be the guarantor of the latest peace deal; after all, it is its primary task to maintain law and order in the country. The claim that the armed forces are overstretched and engaged elsewhere will do little to reassure the people of Kurram that the government cares about their safety. Also, as past experience has shown, a single incident can derail the peace process. One must remain sceptical about the durability of such peace deals until it is proved that the Thall-Parachinar road has been permanently reopened and made safe for travel and that it has effectively been protected against militant incursions. It is incumbent upon the state — particularly the security establishment — to end the lengthy nightmare of the people of Kurram and protect them from further bloodshed and isolation.