GHULAM Dastagir, an FIA constable and father of six, was shot dead during a police operation in Karachi. He had gone to pray at a neighbourhood mosque. His family never saw him alive again.
His eldest daughter recalled, “He was our sole breadwinner. He was like my friend and mentor. My brothers, both in their 20s, don’t have jobs. My sisters go to college. Why did they kill him?”
The resurgence of militant violence has been the most dangerous fallout for Pakistan in the ‘war on terror’. Suicide bombings, religious militancy, sectarian and ethnic killings have resulted in thousands dead over the last decade.
In 2011, as per the online database South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), a little over 3500 people were killed in terror attacks in Pakistan. In 2012, according to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, 2,050 people were killed and 3,822 injured in incidents of terror, a difference that some may think indicates a decrease in violence.
But given the sudden rise in everyday attacks by non-state actors in the absence of security, major cities (and Karachi tops the list) have witnessed increased pre-election violence since the start of this year.
Whereas loss of life is assessed and medical costs for injuries considered, the surviving women and children are the invisible casualties of Pakistan’s militant warfare. Bearing the burden of conflict, they have lost what they possessed and family members they cherished. They struggle for years after the tragedy becomes a memory.
Government compensation for families who lose relatives in terror attacks is half a million rupees, but after the Abbas Town bombings in Karachi, the compensation figure reached one and a half million rupees. Whether this money reaches the victims’ families is not known. What is a given is that rebuilding homes and lives and overall security is a long-term project.
When families fled Swat during the government operation against the Pakistani Taliban and flooded refugee camps, many were left penniless. Widows and orphans were left to fend for themselves in circumstances where the male breadwinner was no longer around to support the family. They had to rely on relatives and charities.
There have been reports of widowed women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa being sold to the highest bidder through sham marriages and forced into prostitution in cities such as Karachi. Contingency plans to protect women are hardly a priority for the government. The latter has failed to identify issues that must be considered as policies are formulated for compensation and assistance.
As fighting in the tribal areas increased with military operations targeting insurgent groups and the war gained momentum, communities in the tribal belt endured the backlash. Violence has been perpetuated through militant groups and the military’s counterterrorism operations, alleged forced renditions and disappearances, largely involving men, in this region.
In North Waziristan, the negative impact of drone attacks on civilians has led to severe economic hardship and psychological trauma. Waziris have been given government compensation but locals explain it isn’t sufficient given the loss of income — their livelihoods depend on small businesses, foreign remittances and agriculture — and long-term medical bills.
With minimum infrastructure and investment in socio-economic projects, and little access to information from within, Pakistan’s tribal regions have a low literacy rate (Taliban violence against schools also deprives children of education). By some estimates, female literacy is as low as three per cent in certain parts.
While information on civilian casualties from strikes is hard to come by, the New America Foundation, a non-profit public policy institute, puts the number of casualties in double digits every year since 2004 except in 2012. A nine-month research project called Living under Drones conducted jointly by Stanford and New York universities concluded that the number of high-level targets killed as a percentage of total costs is low and strikes facilitate recruitment by militant organisations.
The same report also confirms the lack of access to women in Fata which makes speaking directly to them about their experiences impossible. Pakhtun traditions find it inappropriate for men to provide names of women killed in drone strikes or for women to travel long distances to claim compensation or for medical attention.
In March 2011, a drone strike on a jirga gathering in Datta Khel, North Waziristan was believed to have killed more than 40 people. A fact-finding mission discovered that it was mostly community elders and government representatives who had been killed.
In this instance when survivors shared their stories, it was discovered that nearly all the fatalities comprised heads of households — elderly tribal leaders who received government stipends, ran small businesses and supported families of six to eight children.
The sons of those killed cannot find employment locally because of the lack of opportunity and money. This is one of the reasons why it is common practice for young Waziri men to work away from home, with many in the Middle East.
The World Bank’s Gender Equality and Development Report 2012 attributes gender inequality to women’s work effort being underused, and having no control over household incomes whether through their own earnings or savings.
Using education to create choices is critical at a time when the country’s biggest problem is terrorist violence. Forced to re-evaluate their lives, it is mandatory that women and children receive backup support through planned contingency programmes in the wake of terror attacks so that they are not left helpless after losing the male heads of families.
This is what the Pakistani government should be looking at as the world observes International Women’s Day.
The writer is senior assistant editor at Herald.