The youthful, spotlessly attired soldiers of the Bajaur Scouts entrusted to guard one of the world’s most uncongenial terrains give vent to their frustration to anyone willing to lend them a ear. In the last one and a half years they have turned battle hardened as they have driven thousands of Taliban militants from their strongholds at Damadola near Khar, the administrative centre of Bajaur. The operation reached its culmination this month when forces removed the Taliban from profoundly fortified positions. But Colonel Nauman is not happy. In fact, he is furious that hundreds of Taliban slipped across the border into Kunar in Afghanistan, which has minimal or no presence of NATO forces. Those escaped are being provided safe haven there as the boys of Frontier Corps and Bajaur Scouts wait in anticipation. Commanders maintain that they had let Americans known that Taliban were fleeing into their territory but they were neither intercepted nor confronted.
“We have done everything the West asked us to do, but we feel badly let down,” says Nauman. In fact, Pakistan is so fatigued of being told it needs to “do more” that Nauman does not miss the chance to remind Americans of their message. “In their language, they need to ‘do more’,” he adds for good measure.
The story of Bajaur starts with the American attack on the province of Kunar in Afghanistan. The area between River Kunar and the Durand Line that varies in breadth from 12 km to 25 km and stretches to nearly 160 km saw heavy action. However, the tried and tested technique of insurgency operations, ‘Hammer & Anvil’, was not used. As the Americans went for the kill, the Pakistani counterparts were not taken into confidence. And hence with NATO blazing on their back, the Taliban entered into Bajaur. There are officially four passes from Kunar to Bajaur—Letai, Kaga, Fazal and Nawa, apart from hundreds of relatively uncharted ones. Nawa Pass was the one that was used by Alexander the Great to enter India. One of his commanders, Ptolemy, writes that the Hellenic army faced the fiercest resistance here. Village after village perished but none bowed. They perished but not before Alexander himself was pierced by a bolt that nearly killed him. These hardy tribes were tough then; they are tough now as well.
When the fleeing Taliban entered these regions the Pakhtunwali came into play. Pakhtunwali, or the traditional code of life for Pakhtuns consists of nine codes—melmastia (hospitality), nanawatai (asylum), badal (justice), tureh (bravery), sabat (loyalty), imandari (righteousness), isteqamat (faith in God), ghayrat (dignity) and namus (honour of women). The Taliban sought melmastia and it was granted.
There were several reasons why melmastia was granted. First and foremost, these Taliban were known to the locals from the Soviet invasion days. The west in those days wanted the Durand Line to become the Soviet’s graveyard. FATA thus became the natural springboard. What happened later has been narrated ad infinitum. The second reason was ethnic connection. Since the tribes across the borders were ethnically related, there was a natural sympathy. Also, these battered Taliban were seen as victims of American aggression. All these made a perfect concoction for melmastia.
“Initially, they kept a low profile. But gradually they started recruiting and taking over madrasas. They preached a concocted version of Islam and misled people, but we could not do anything as local sympathies were with them,” recalls Colonel Nauman. But things got out of control soon.
“We have done everything the West asked us to do, but we feel badly let down,” says Nauman. In fact, Pakistan is so fatigued of being told it needs to “do more” that Nauman does not miss the chance to remind Americans of their message. “In their language, they need to ‘do more’,” he adds for good measure.
The story of Bajaur starts with the American attack on the province of Kunar in Afghanistan. The area between River Kunar and the Durand Line that varies in breadth from 12 km to 25 km and stretches to nearly 160 km saw heavy action. However, the tried and tested technique of insurgency operations, ‘Hammer & Anvil’, was not used. As the Americans went for the kill, the Pakistani counterparts were not taken into confidence. And hence with NATO blazing on their back, the Taliban entered into Bajaur. There are officially four passes from Kunar to Bajaur—Letai, Kaga, Fazal and Nawa, apart from hundreds of relatively uncharted ones. Nawa Pass was the one that was used by Alexander the Great to enter India. One of his commanders, Ptolemy, writes that the Hellenic army faced the fiercest resistance here. Village after village perished but none bowed. They perished but not before Alexander himself was pierced by a bolt that nearly killed him. These hardy tribes were tough then; they are tough now as well.
When the fleeing Taliban entered these regions the Pakhtunwali came into play. Pakhtunwali, or the traditional code of life for Pakhtuns consists of nine codes—melmastia (hospitality), nanawatai (asylum), badal (justice), tureh (bravery), sabat (loyalty), imandari (righteousness), isteqamat (faith in God), ghayrat (dignity) and namus (honour of women). The Taliban sought melmastia and it was granted.
There were several reasons why melmastia was granted. First and foremost, these Taliban were known to the locals from the Soviet invasion days. The west in those days wanted the Durand Line to become the Soviet’s graveyard. FATA thus became the natural springboard. What happened later has been narrated ad infinitum. The second reason was ethnic connection. Since the tribes across the borders were ethnically related, there was a natural sympathy. Also, these battered Taliban were seen as victims of American aggression. All these made a perfect concoction for melmastia.
“Initially, they kept a low profile. But gradually they started recruiting and taking over madrasas. They preached a concocted version of Islam and misled people, but we could not do anything as local sympathies were with them,” recalls Colonel Nauman. But things got out of control soon.
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