Top American officials were instrumental behind a recent development in the NWFP whereby Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai tendered resignation from the office of governor last week, due to, what he termed, “personal reasons”, said a tribal elder, who is considered a close aide of the former governor.
The elder, who is said to have helped the government on many occasions when Mr. Aurakzai was the Corps Commander and then made governor of the NWFP, said: “He (Aurakzai) was the best among all as he stressed to control the tribal crisis through negotiations.” Many of his colleagues in the government were following the US agenda against his pro-tribesmen policy. He was the one who signed agreements with militants five years ago and again last year with presently the most active Taliban commander, Baituallah Mehsud, in Tiargah area of South Waziristan.
In his last meeting with an American official, he was told that he is running the tribal affairs against the American policy. The official told him that US aid for Pakistan is only because it is aggressively following the strategy in accordance with US demands. The official added that the US would stop the aid if its interests were not taken care of.
In reply, according to a senior official, the US official was told by Mr. Aurakzai that he would do whatever was best for people of tribal areas. In present situation, a negotiation with the militant commander is the best option with the government, he added. The US official was told that jirga system was the best option instead of massive arrests and bombings.
It has been learnt that the US official had expressed anguish over Mr. Aurakzai’s comment. The official told him that he was not following the policy of Musharraf government.
It was soon after the meeting that the federal government had decided to relieve Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai from the post.
It merits a mention here that as Corps Commander of Peshawar, Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai was the first who managed to enter Pak-Army troops in tribal areas to deal with Al-Qaeda and Taliban elements hiding there. Ironically, troops were welcomed by tribesmen. “It was like a dream, which became true with Mr.Aurakzai’s efforts,” said a retired bureaucrat.
The difference of opinion between Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai and certain quarters of the government, which strongly followed US agenda, continued after Tiargah agreement was first signed between the government and pro-Taliban commander and then it was violated by the former.
Some officials of the newly-established FATA secretariat, who were privy to the Tirgah agreement, have some difference of opinion over the release of certain hardened criminals against the release of 250 security personnel who were taken hostage by the militants.
In the agreement, it was decided that the security personnel would only be released after the government let go 45 aides of Taliban. Twenty eight of them were released after consultation with the federal government. In response, all the 250 security personnel were also released.
The move was appreciated by all concerned. But when US expressed its anguish over acceptance of demand by the government against the release of its security personnel, the federal government also changed its tone and asked Mr Aurakzai to explain his position.
The American officials have also expressed their dissatisfaction over the conditions of the Tiargah agreement.
Meanwhile, when law and order situation worsened in the country, the government started blaming Baitullah Mehsud. It decided to launch a major operation in his ancestral village and planned to target his relatives and people from his tribe. The administrative officials of Waziristan were told to change their stance of negotiating with the militants. At the same time, the FATA secretariat officials started receiving threats from the militants that they would face the music because they had violated the agreement.
Keeping in view these developments, the federal government finally decided to replace Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai with Governor Balochaistan Owais Ahmad Ghani.
The newly appointed governor, who took oath last week, has a good reputation. He is considered an honest and dedicated person and very close to President Musharraf. He has a good family background and his stint as governor Balochistan is termed successful as he covered a lot of ground in controlling the ethnic and tribal clashes. Let’s see if he has the same success in the NWFP through efficient management of the affairs in Waziristan and rest of the tribal belt.
