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A complete curfew has been imposed across North Waziristan amidst rising insecurity and militant activity, while authorities in Bajaur desperately scramble to negotiate with Pakistani Taliban (TTP) leaders, urging them to either retreat to Afghanistan or vanish into the mountains, according to multiple reports by Dawn News.
On Friday, a peace march in Shewa tehsil of North Waziristan saw tribal elders, civil society representatives, political party members, and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) activists uniting against what they described as a collapsing security environment. As per Dawn News, speakers at the rally squarely blamed Pakistan's state institutions for allowing the resurgence of militant elements in the region, leaving civilians to live in a state of permanent fear. This fear is now institutionalised, with the curfew order advising residents to remain indoors indefinitely. The curfew, a recurring tool of suppression by the Pakistan Army, comes alongside so-called "peace jirgas" often little more than photo-ops or pressure tactics, engaging directly with TTP commanders instead of taking any concrete action, Dawn News reported. In Bajaur, a 50-member delegation, including former and current PTI lawmakers, met TTP operatives in a mosque in the Lar Kalan area of Lowi Mamund tehsil to ask them to vacate populated zones. According to Dawn News, the militants refused immediate compliance, saying they needed "more time" to consult their handlers across the border in Afghanistan. This disturbing theatre of appeasement exposes the deep-rooted complicity between Pakistan's state machinery and extremist actors, many of whom have long been treated as "strategic assets." Rather than dismantling these militant infrastructures, the state seems content to negotiate terms of coexistence. Another jirga, held at the Bajaur Scouts headquarters in Khar and reported by Dawn News, saw military officials and politicians parroting hollow promises of "lasting peace." Frontier Corps (North) Inspector General Maj Gen Rao Imran Sirtaj stated that anti-terror operations were meant to restore normalcy, a claim that rings hollow given years of cyclical violence and displacement inflicted on local Pashtun populations. Meanwhile, reports of collateral damage, curfews, and arbitrary detentions continue to mount, with no end in sight. For many in these tribal districts, the so-called war on terror is nothing more than a cover for the Pakistan Army's colonial-style control, one that crushes local autonomy while empowering extremist groups to serve Islamabad's regional ambitions. According to Dawn News, another round of talks with the TTP is expected on Saturday. But for the people of Bajaur and North Waziristan, hope remains in short supply, held hostage by militants on one side and the Pakistani state on the other. (ANI)
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