PAKISTAN: On the eve of Pakistan Day, school children in the military-secured town of Waziristan, once a Taliban stronghold, rehearse for a moving tableau depicting the birth of Pakistan from British India

Record ID: 173990

  • Title: PAKISTAN: On the eve of Pakistan Day, school children in the military-secured town of Waziristan, once a Taliban stronghold, rehearse for a moving tableau depicting the birth of Pakistan from British India
  • Date: 22nd March 2013
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS AND RELATIVES OF STUDENTS DANCING TO TRIBAL MUSIC.
  • Embargoed: 6th April 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Conflict,Arts,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAQFHWWLJC9XFR5QD58IG8GNSM
  • Story Text: The sun rises on Friday (March 22) over Spinkai Raghzai, a small town that was once considered a stronghold of Taliban militants in Pakistan's restive South Waziristan tribal Agency.
    As local farmers lead their cattle to their craggy fields, 8-year-old Zafarullah and his classmate Mohammad Waseem make their way to school under the watchful eyes of Pakistani army soldiers.
    Zafarullah and Waseem, both students of Grade 2 in one of the military-secured schools in the town, are excited because they are performing in a Pakistan Day tableau being prepared by the students for Saturday (March 23).
    Pakistan Day commemorates the anniversary of the Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940, when the Indian Muslim leadership called for the creation of an independent Muslim state in British India.
    The mountainous tribal region of South Waziristan, one of the most severe terrains in the world and an ideal safe haven for the world's most notorious militants, has a history of the worst militancy in recent history.
    It was one of several major hubs for the Afghan Taliban, al-Qaeda, and other Central and South Asian terror groups in Pakistan's northwest after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in Afghanistan in late 2001.
    Many areas slowly came under the virtual control of the Taliban who terrorized the local population.
    "I was scared. I was scared of drone attacks. I was scared of air strikes. I was scared of the terrorists. I was afraid of everything," Zafarullah told Reuters Television.
    After three military offensives to clear the region without success -- and peace deals with the Taliban that fell apart -- the army finally launched a major offensive in October 2009 to throw the militants out of their bastions.
    But peace and stability in the region did not come without a price.
    Large swathes of the rugged region were devastated during the military offensives against al Qaeda-linked militants, and around 300,000 people belonging to the Mehsud tribe were displaced by the conflict.
    Women and children were the worst sufferers of the violence and the subsequent exodus from their conflict-ridden villages.
    Zafarullah and his family spent three years in an overcrowded camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province.
    "The terrorists came here. Then the fighting and wars started. So we went to Dera Ismail Khan and lived there," he said. "Then things got better here, so we came back to Waziristan."
    Army officials supervising the return and rehabilitation of the displaced people since 2011 believe that the Taliban were able to garner support because the region had remained neglected for decades, and say the lessons learnt from the success of clearing South Waziristan must not be wasted.
    Among the various development projects that have been started in the region, priority is being given to schools for both boys and girls with a special emphasis on extra-curricular activities to attract the children.
    Military doctors deployed in the region say the traumatized children "still have imprints of militancy on their minds," and need a happy, carefree atmosphere in their schools with plenty of extra-curricular activities to make them forget the violence they witnessed at a tender age.
    Preparation for the tableau started around three weeks back, with young army officers posted in the remote town coaching the forty children -- shortlisted from among a long list of eager volunteers -- in acting, singing and dancing for hours after school every day.
    Family members gathered to watch the dress rehearsal for the tableau on Pakistan Day eve clapped and cheered as the children enacted the events that led to the creation of Pakistan after years of struggle.
    Children dressed as Muslim leaders of British India passed the Lahore Resolution, followed by rejoicing as Pakistan came into being. Another segment showed the 'Taliban' taking over and terrorizing the local tribesmen.
    "Initially they were a little shy and under-confident. But with the passage of time, they are very confident and they want to contribute. You have seen the enthusiasm, the hope, the spirit with which they are carrying out various activities. They want to become part of the mainstream," said Colonel Khalid, deputy commander of the Spinkai Raghzai post.
    Zafarullah and his co-actors, tired but happy, waved Pakistani flags from the makeshift stage.
    "Now in my good life I go to school. I recite the holy Koran. I pray. I play hockey. I work in the fields. I also fetch water for my home," said Zafarullah, as delighted parents and beaming soldiers joined the students in a traditional tribal dance.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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