Millennials growing up in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were raised on stories of the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. Most Afghan families who lived in our villages migrated during this period. It was a historical moment - every incident or date of birth was remembered in relation to the Afghan jihad, which was locally known as 'inqilab' (revolution). We did not have many fairy tales. Our childhood stories were about Russian planes crossing into our territories and people losing their loved ones in landmine explosions. Our parents' generation was suffering at the time but to us, it felt like a Hollywood movie. It would be not wrong to call this time the first great transformation in FATA. This period shaped not only the material conditions but also memories of the children born in late 1980s and 1990s, who are now more educated and politically active.
The thousands of Afghan refugees who fled the conflict in their country were not limited to camps in Pakistan. They constructed new villages, bazaars and enhanced existing markets. New lands were brought under cultivation. Locals from FATA sought employment in camps and for the first time, they started earning from non-agricultural activities. Abundance of cheap labour and good earnings from such activities prompted people to spend more on education of their children.
It was 2007 when I left Kurram Agency for the first time to pursue higher education in Peshawar. In university I met people from various student organisations, such as the Pakhtun Student Federation, the People's Student Federation, Islami Jamiat Tulaba and Imamia Student Organization. I had zero interest in politics. I kept my distance and was more excited about enjoying life in city.
Hospitals are empty, public schools are empty. There is no life but there is great frustration and resentment against the government
It takes three hours to travel from Peshawar to our village in Lower Kurram. I used to go home every time I got the chance. But within the first few months of 2007, strange things started happening. Taliban could be seen boarding pick-up trucks and crossing into Afghanistan. It was then when we started getting a bad feeling; something about this did not feel right. We had been following the war in neighbouring North Waziristan and many people were concerned that the conflict would spill over to Kurram. This is exactly what happened when the intrusion of the Taliban culminated in war in May 2007. In a span of two months, everything changed. Kurram was under siege. Those of us outside could not visit our villages and those who remained were fighting the Taliban day and night.
For the first time in my life, I participated in a protest demanding an end to war in Kurram. We could not go back home nor do anything to protect our loved ones who were dying there. In this moment of frustration and anger, we came together under an organisation called Youth of Parachinar. We set up study circles and began coordinating with activists of political parties who visited our protests.
Protests calling on the government to abolish colonial-era British laws
Since there was a complete information black-out of the war in Kurram, we were simply looking for reasons why this was happening to us. Growing up in Kurram, I had always believed that we had the same rights like all other Pakistanis. I had never heard of the Frontier Crime Regulations (FCR). It was during this tumultuous time that I learnt that we were residents of FATA, and our region was governed under different laws. By then I had graduated from university. Looking back, it is a shocking realisation that university graduates had no idea about the FCR!
Students from Kurram were getting politically active in the cities and those who remained caught in the siege were exhausted by the continuous war. Their studies were affected. As Afghans began migrating back to Afghanistan, there was shortage of labour for farming. Families tried to engage rural youth in farming activities but this is not what they were aspiring for. Many young boys, broken by the war, began migrating to Gulf countries, Australia, Europe and urban areas of Pakistan.
Villages are now empty and there is a constant air of insecurity. Last year, there were seven bomb blasts in Kurram which left more than 100 people dead. Frustrated by the constant bombings, people started protesting. They were dealt with hard force by security agencies. Check posts were set up in villages where security officials would harass locals on the basis of their tribes and religious sects.
There have been attacks on playgrounds but instead of ensuring peace, local governments banned sports activities in villages. Hospitals are empty, public schools are empty. There is no life but there is great frustration and resentment against the government. Young people of Kurram are tired of the status quo. Last year, there was a protest in Parachinar after a bombing in July. The committee which was organising the protest was comprised entirely of young people. They did not allow a single elder in talks with the government. Pashto radio stations and limited access to the internet and their frequent visits to other parts of the country taught them their rights. In cities they realised that they belonged to a particular region and that was the reason why they were frequently frisked by police and stereotyped everywhere.
By the time FATA was merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it was too late. The frustration, alienation and the demand to be treated with dignity had already taken the form of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement by the time the merger was signed into law. This merger is only the first step. The youth is not just demanding the erasure of administrative boundaries but also an end to policies which has made our region a theatre of war and tragedy. Those who were picked during and after military operations should be presented in courts. Landmines should be removed from our villages and the government should focus on economic development of the region. We are slightly older, slightly wiser and definitely more vigilant. We will follow each development after the merger and how the process unfolds will determine how the people respond.
The writer is an activist of Awami Workers Party and can reached @Spin_ghar on Twitter.
