An insight into Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan and impact of Military Operation

An insight into Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan and impact of Military Operation

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has a historic background. FATA comprises of 7 agencies namely Bajaur, Mohmand, Orakzai, Kurram, South Waziristan, North Waziristan and Khyber and six FRs (Frontier Regions) namely FR Peshawar, FR Kohat, FR
Tank, FR Banu, FR Laki and FR DI Khan.

Mohmand Agency is one of the agencies of Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Mohmand Agency takes its name from the Mohmand Tribe which lives in the area. This Agency was established in 1951. Earlier this area was under the administrative control
of Political Agent Khyber. However, it was not until 1973 that the headquarters of the Mohmand Agency were moved from Peshawar to Ekkagund. Now the permanent agency headquarter is at Ghalanai deep in the Mohmand Agency. It is bounded on the north by the Bajur
Agency, on the east by Malakand protected area and Charsaddah District, on the south-east by Peshawar District, on the south by Khyber Agency and on the west by Afghanistan. The total area of the agency is 2,296 sq. kms. The population of the agency is roughly
about 600,000. Mohamand Agency is geographically sub-divided for administrative convenience into upper and lower Mohmand areas. Lower Mohmand area is rather fertile whereas upper Mohamand area is comparatively less productive. The sources of income are very
limited in general, except agriculture and some trade/business. Many of the locals are earning their livelihoods in the Gulf States. Most of the rainfall happens in the winters which starts from November and continues till February, leading to difficult living
conditions for the under privileged people of this region. Despite its attraction to tourists, Mohmand Agency has been an area of conflict between Pakistan Army and some militant groups.

Even if the tribal areas were not under the sway of these militant groups, which they increasingly are, the development challenge here is very steep. Military operation in Mohmand Agency has forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes in absolute
helplessness situation. These IDPs were provided with shelters in emergency camps in abominable living conditions. After the end of military operations they were asked to return to their places of origin. Most of the displaced people show reservations to get
returned while many of them opt to go back. This process seems to be continuous as the peace situation in the region remains inconsistent.  In some areas people have been displaced more than once as the situation after the military operations does not stay
well for long time. The internal displacement has caused serious damages to the properties, homes, infrastructure and livelihood of the people living in Mohmand Agency. 

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Posted by Naveed A Bari on Dec 30 2011. Filed under Pakistan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry