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As more villages, towns and cities in Malakand division are cleared and held
by the security forces, the NWFP and federal governments are gearing up for IDPs
to return to their homes in some areas and begin to piece together their lives.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that 90 per cent of Buner has now been
cleared of militants and told the IDPs from the area that it is safe to return
home.
Crucially, NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain announced on Sunday, 'The
leave of NWFP government’s employees except teachers in Buner district has been
cancelled and they have been directed to report for duty [from June 1].'
Additionally, staff handling the local electricity, telephone and gas networks
and officers of the town municipal authorities have also been asked to return to
duty. What this means then is that the local administration in Buner, as has
already been promised in Mingora, Swat, is to be reactivated quickly and the
area made habitable for the local population once again. If the plan is carried
out as efficiently as possible, it will undoubtedly be a tremendous boost to the
beleaguered people of Buner — and would offer hope to the IDPs from other areas
that the state will help them resettle in their homes in due time.
Perhaps most critical to the resettlement phase is the revival of the local
police forces. A primary target of the militants, the police have been decimated
and demoralised. Yet, security at the local level can best be ensured by a
police force with sufficient numbers and resources. From this point of view, it
is welcome to see that the police force in Buner has returned to conduct joint
operations with the army. Given the knowledge that a local police officer would
have of neighbourhoods and the local population, the police are a vital cog in
the house-to-house searches that are necessary to flush out the remaining
militants trying to hide among the population. And from the perspective of
sending a positive signal to a frightened population that normality is being
restored, the sight of local police officers patrolling neighbourhoods is
infinitely more reassuring than soldiers armed to the teeth and brought in from
outside areas.
Elsewhere, it is reassuring to see the federal government has not taken its eye
off the ball and is trying to keep its focus on the operation in Malakand
division. President Zardari chaired a meeting of top political, administrative
and security officials on Monday, indicating that the government at least
understands the need for the various arms of the state to stay informed about
each others’ actions. We have said it before and we’ll say it again: a
counter-insurgency can only be successful if the full force of the state —
political, administrative and military — is brought to bear against the
militants. |
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