Bajaur Agency Witnesses Unprecedented Deaths and Destruction

Bajaur Agency, tribal areas situated on Pak-Afghan border, which was the home of peace, has witnessed unprecedented deaths and destruction in the present war on terrorism. Thousands of people have either been killed or maimed during the operation carried out by both the US and Pakistani troops.
According to a report, Bajaur Agency is atop the list in terms of human and material losses, while Khyber is the least affected agency in the ongoing war against insurgency, says a report recently released by the Fata Secretariat.

Without mentioning a specific period, the 21-page report titled ‘Cost of Conflict in Fata’ says a total of 3,205 tribesmen died, 2,160 seriously injured, 1,520 slightly injured and 205 were disabled in seven tribal agencies and six Frontier Regions.

The report, prepared in April 2009 by the Planning and Development Department of Fata Secretariat, does not properly identify as to when, how and by whom the data was collected. Bajaur Agency, with a population of 595,227 as per 1998 census, had witnessed the longest military operation started on August 6, 2008, but the loss of human lives shown in official report is 600 with the same number of seriously injured persons. Similarly, 50 people sustained minor injuries, while 25 were disabled in Bajaur Agency where more than 40 people were killed in recent suicide attack on a tribal jirga in Salarzai tehsil.

If the report is to be believed, Khyber Agency is the least affected tribal area where some 50 people were killed, five seriously injured and 45 received minor injuries during what it called war against insurgency. A brief operation named ‘Sirat-e-Mustaqeem’ was launched against local militants in June last year while another crackdown in the name of ‘Daraghlam’ was conducted a few months ago.

Likewise, hundreds of people were killed and injured in clashes between two rival groups — Lashkar-e-Islam and Ansarul Islam — in Khyber Agency in the last four years. In North and South Waziristan agencies, the most troubled areas and hub of all terrorist activities in the country, some 1,000 tribesmen died (500 each in North and South Waziristan) and 900 seriously injured (400 separately in both tribal agencies). Sixty tribal people got crippled in North Waziristan and 45 in South Waziristan Agency where the first-ever military operation was launched in the name of war against terror.

Kurram Agency, with population of 448,310, is stated to be another unfortunate region where the human losses were reported 500 and seriously injured 400 while 50 people were disabled.

No military operation has been launched in Kurram Agency where sectarian clashes have claimed thousands of lives since 2002. In the adjacent Orakzai Agency — the smallest agency — 150 people were killed and 30 seriously injured. Similarly, 400 people were killed and 300 seriously injured in Mohmand Agency where the security forces intermittently launched operation against militants.

Among six Frontier Regions, FR Kohat, having population of 88,465, can be called the most “bereaved region” where 450 people died, 25 seriously injured and five were disabled. In FR Peshawar, 10 people were reported killed while in each of FR Bannu and FR Tank 20 people died. In FR Lakki, five people were killed while in FR Dera Ismail Khan no human casualty has been reported.

A total compensation for casualties is estimated Rs4.405 billion at the rate of Rs500,000 for dead, Rs250,000 for seriously injured, Rs100,000 for minor injured and Rs250,000 for a disabled person.

As for material losses, Rs8.270 billion for infrastructure; Rs9.505 billion for economic cost; Rs88.725 billion for social cost; Rs15 billion for environmental cost and Rs45.766 billion for security and IDPs cost, have been estimated by the Planning and Development Department of Fata Secretariat in its report.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=186624