By Abdul Sami Paracha

Abdul Sami Paracha sees a rustic form of life far removed from urban realities.

Towards the west of Pakistan lies the 2,200km-long buffer zone with Afghanistan. Its width varies from point to point, and although there are natural barriers in the shape of high mountains and thick jungles, these areas have been a region of migration, witnessing the exchange of people, culture and economics. Earlier, they had no particular nationality and served as soldiers in the armies of the invaders who passed through the area. But later, they acquired the name Pukhtoon. These dwellers are renowned as born warriors.

Western invaders such as Alexander the Great (321BC); Shah Khwarzam (1200AD); Halaku Khan and Babar all passed through this area. The loosely-guarded western frontier enabled the founder of the Pukhtoon Durrani dynasty, Ahmed Shah Abdali, to extend his rule up to Jhelum and appoint Sultan Jan Sadouzai as ruler in the NWFP.

In the boundless wilderness of the tribal buffer zones, the luxuries of life are cheaper than one can possibly imagine and easily affordable. The area is so beautiful that the British named places such as Razmak and Makin as Chhota England. According to calculations, even the poorest of tribesmen owns a house, shop and an average of Rs30,000 worth arms and ammunition.

Both fruits and dry fruits grow wild here. Apples are sold for as low as Rs2 per kg, and are transported through trucks that use cheap diesel smuggled from Iran. These tribesmen feel proud at showing off their sophisticated weaponry, luxury cars and lavish spending on food to entertain guests, irrespective of cast, creed, religion and color.

Unlike the Frontier region and a few tribal agencies, the women in Waziristan Agency do not work in the fields or fetch water. They spend the day preparing meals, milking the goats and cows and taking care of children. The girls, a majority of whom have striking blue eyes and flawless complexion, do not attend school. They are exceptionally good at needlework and wear only dark red or yellow clothes, while the boys wear white or black.

The women who live in the thick jungles collect wood and fetch water from the nearby streams only by traveling in groups. In Wana, the headquarters of the South Waziristan Agency, there are five big private public schools. An English teacher in one of the schools, Zarin Wazir, said that there were no girls among the 1,300 students enrolled in these institutions. “Parents do want education for their daughters, but only in a separate girls school,” he added. Women and girls meet relatives occasionally and on important occasions such as weddings. The happiest occasion is the circumcision ceremony of a male child, and the celebrations continue for days. Boys are generally circumcised between the ages of five and seven, at home.

The men mostly get up before dawn, put on their huge turbans (without combing their long hair) and leave the house holding a Klashnikov in one hand. They do not return until the evening. The jirga (gathering of elders) is held early in the morning. Matters such as centuries’ old disputes over murders, land and administration are generally discussed.

What is most astonishing is the fact that the tribesmen have purchased cables, poles and transformers on their own in anticipation of electricity connections, although these should be provided free-of-cost by the electric company. Haji Bakhta Jan, an elder of the Sarki Khel tribe, said that they purchased them in the black market.

“This year the apple and peach crops have been very good and we are able to bear the diesel expenses incurred on generators to water our land,” he remarks. Each farmer spends at least Rs60,000 on diesel, in the absence of electricity which has been cut off by the government.

To reach the border town of Angor Adda, once famous for car showrooms and arms, one has to travel through thick jungles, bearing all kinds of fruits, for four hours from Wana. The journey includes a one-hour passage through a freshwater stream. Hotels are available at every five miles or so for transporters carrying goods to and from Afghanistan.

The land is rich in pastures. Astonishingly, livestock comprising mainly sheep is very costly, as compared to other parts of the country. When asked why it is so, the reason given is that sacrifices are made on the occasion of settling of disputes between tribes. The sheep are also accepted as fine and in return for prospective brides, a tradition in vogue since time immemorial.

I was told to wear shalwar kameez during my stay in this area. I traveled in pants, but changed before reaching my friend’s house as I was told that we will be meeting a lot of people in his hujra. The next morning, I changed my mind and put my trousers and shirt back on. Eventually, my guide told me that the people who accompanied us to the Pak-Afghan border as bodyguards asked him why I was traveling in the nude.