THERE is no official word but things are clearly moving towards the launch of an operation in Kurram district to wipe out elements that threaten the fragile peace and security in the sensitive area. Chief of JUI(F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman has claimed that preparations are underway to initiate a military operation in Kurram. His statement came as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Sunday noted that action against “few miscreants” in the affected areas of violence-stricken Kurram district was now “unavoidable”. After a meeting held to review the security situation in the region, spokesperson of the provincial government Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif said it has been decided to take “indiscriminate action against miscreants”.
Developments on ground also suggest the possibility of such an operation as TDP (temporarily displaced people) camps are being set up at Thall and Hangu to accommodate about one thousand families in a bid to avoid collateral damage during the operation. As per available information, the operation will be conducted in four areas of Lower Kurram: Bagan, Mandori, Chapri Parau, and Chapri. It is known to all that the Government exercised extreme restraint and caution despite prolonged conflict in the area taking heavy human toll and miseries of the local population, which was virtually cut from the rest of the country for months. A peace accord was signed due to involvement of the jirga but unfortunately agreed terms were breached by some miscreants who attacked government and aid convoys, imperilling peace in the area. It was in this backdrop that several members of the Kurram Jirga also wrote a letter to federal and provincial authorities urging action against militants preventing implementation of the peace deal. There are signs of a broader consensus for launching an operation, which has become unavoidable to wipe out spoilers of peace.
