Indian Defence Review

Lessons from history

It was during British rule that Waziristan came in contact with settled areas on large scale. This had economic, social and political effects on the tribal society. Officially, the area was under Afghan suzerainty, but actually no one had control over the land. Throughout British direct or indirect rule, many expeditions were carried out in the Waziristan area. The main objective of these expeditions was punishment for perpetual continuance of crimes by tribes in settled districts.

Tthe question is whether Pakistan, given the history of Waziristan, can ever be able to rise to the occasion.

The crimes were usually robbery, murder or kidnapping in settled districts, or attack on civil caravans or military convoys in tribal territory. The usual form of punishment was blowing up defensive towers, cutting of crops and burning of villages. When the tribe submitted, they were asked to pay a certain amount of fine and surrender few rifles and the forces would be withdrawn.

In the early part of British rule (starting in 1849 after the annexation of Punjab) the area was totally independent of British authorities. British Deputy Commissioners of settled districts dealt with the tribes adjoining their districts. Deputy Commissioners of Bannu and Derajat dealt with Waziristan tribes. Apart from punishing the tribes for their crimes, the British arrangement also involved   cultivating dominating personalities among the tribes (Maliks).  This arrangement relied on a strong personality who earned the respect of the tribe and could communicate with them. Written agreements were negotiated with tribes.

A tribe was made responsible for the security of their area and controlled the raiders, while the government provided allowances (called muwajibs) to maliks. These intermediaries were the key in this policy called ‘closed border policy’. In these arrangements, the tribes were not subjects and the measures were meant only to prevent looting raids on settled districts. There were many military expeditions during this period but the region was never on an enduring basis.

Of course, during the Second Afghan War (1878) the penetration of Baluch tribal areas was accompanied with increased penetration of Waziristan. But the penetration of Waziristan was never at the scale of Baluch territories. The area remained ‘no man’s land’ until the 1893 treaty with Afghanistan, which was negotiated by Sir Mortimer Durand. This we will discuss at a little length later; for the moment it may be mentioned that Waziristan with the exception of Birmal came under the British sphere of influence. However, the demarcation of boundary (Durand Line) was resisted by Wazirs and the area saw heavy fighting. The Tochi Valley and Wana were occupied and two agencies called North and South Waziristan were subsequently established.

If Pakistan now controls nearly 40 percent territory of Maharaja Hari Singhs Jammu and Kashmir, it is because of the tribals of Waziristan in 1947″“48. But for them, Pakistan would have had no role in the Kashmir problem as it exists today.

After the Third Afghan War (1919), the Mehsud area was penetrated extensively and roads and posts were built. When Maliks were seen as unable to deliver due to the strong independent nature of Mehsuds, for a brief period of time the British tried to introduce a new system where in an allowance was given to whole tribe (called tuman). The Commissioner of Derajat, Merk also started to deal with the whole tribe in mass assembly called ‘the great jirga’. It was impossible to reach any reasonable agreement with an armed crowd of 5000 Mehsuds and after Merk’s departure the system was scrapped and the Maliks were restored.

However, collective benefits were restructured through the establishment of tribal police called Khassadars. At the same time another irregular force composed of tribes, but with a significant non-local component called Scouts was created. The local militia was named Frontier Corps headed by an Inspector General with its headquarter in Peshawar. The South Waziristan Scouts and Tochi Scouts for North Waziristan were operating in Waziristan area.

With further penetration of Waziristan the incentives included the recruitment in tribal militia with its attendant economic benefits. At the same time the punishment scope also increased. A system of collective tribal responsibility for any outrage committed by any member of the tribe was instituted. This included not only the termination of allowances but also sort of econmic blockade of the culprit tribe (called bandish). The tribe members would be prevented from grazing their flocks in the neighbouring districts and excluded from markets. Another method was the arrest of individuals and seizure of animals and property of the culprit tribe in settled areas (called baramta).

The last resort would be a punitive expedition against the culprit tribe or clan, which was usually of a short duration. In 1872 Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) was introduced in tribal areas, which authorized settlement of quarrels, by customary methods conducted by the jirga. FCR also gave Political Agents significant powers that could not be challenged in any court. This system is still operative in tribal areas with very little change and the Political Agent with his administrative staff and militia is the sole representative of the central government in the area.

Operation Curzon

After the partition of India in 1947, the successor state of Pakistan decided to remove regular troops from the tribal areas. The country’s founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah personally took this important decision and the brigade from Razmak was evacuated (the operation was named ‘Curzon’). Since independence, many social, economic and demographic changes have occurred in Waziristan. The Wazirs have come far down into the plains from their hills in adjoining settled districts.

Increasing education facilities have opened new avenues and many of them enlisted in the army and militias.

Increasing education facilities have opened new avenues and many of them enlisted in the army and militias. Similarly, large number of Mehsuds joined the mainstream Pakistani society. When the Hindu traders of Tank left after Partition in 1947, most of their shops were taken over by Mehsuds. Now Mehsuds are employed in militia and regular army, state bureaucracy and are involved in business all around the country. Many of them are now living far away from their native lands.

Incidentally, immediately after independence, Wazirs and Mehsuds were part of the tribal lashkar, which entered Kashmir. They quickly reached the outskirts of Srinagar, defeating the Maharaja’s troops. In fact, if Pakistan now controls nearly 40 percent territory of Maharaja Hari Singh’s Jammu and Kashmir, it is because of the tribals of Waziristan in 1947–48. But for them, Pakistan would have had no role in the Kashmir problem as it exists today.