Pro-govt militant body dissolved in Khyber Agency

BARA: The pro-government militant organisation, Amar bil Maroof wa Nahi Anil Munkar (Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice), which was the first to emerge in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency, has been dissolved by its volunteers, official and tribal sources said.
The organisation was founded by Haji Namdar, who is now dead, in Khajori area of Bar Qambarkhel tribe in Bara in 2004. It spread rapidly, particularly in Bar Qambarkhel area, as people were joining it voluntarily to solve various problems and disputes faced by the locals. But it has now been disbanded following a call by Khyber Agency’s political agent.
Addressing a jirga of Bar Qambarkhel tribe at the Khyber House, Khyber Agency’s Political Agent Syed Shahab Ali Shah said the militants of the Lashkar-i-Islam (LI), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other organisations had fled and the state’s writ had been restored in Khajori area in Bara.
He said the government was satisfied with the conduct of the Bar Qambarkhel tribe as it accepted the state’s writ and supported the security forces.He asked the members of the Amar bil Maroof wa Nahi Anil Munkar organisation to remove their flags from their centres and hoist the national flag.
The political agent asked elders to form a peace committee, known locally as Amn Sharishta, within a week and the government would support it.“It is the responsibility of the political administration to provide security and basic facilities to the tribal people in any circumstances,” he said, adding, the government would not tolerate vandalism in the area.
He said the Bar Qambarkhel tribe had supported the government when the area suffered from militancy and would be willing to help the political administration in future.Elders including prominent lawyer Abdul Latif Afridi who belongs to the ANP, his party colleague Imran Afridi, Munsif Ali, Haji Shaukat, Shamsher Khan and Haji Wajid Khan attended the jirga.
The elders said the Amar bil Maroof wa Nahi Anil Munkar had supported the government in critical situations and it did not allow the militants to create disturbance in the area.They promised to form a peace body in Bar Qambarkhel at a meeting in a madrassa at Khajuri on Saturday.
It needs mentioning that Amar bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkar enjoyed the locals’ trust. The organisation’s chief had established an FM radio channel to broadcast religious programmes in Khyber Agency.
Its head Haji Namdar first organized the Amar bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkar in the Bar Qambarkhel area. He later travelled to the Tirah valley to extend his influence there but could not get much support.Subsequently, he was shot dead by his guard identified as Mujahid Khan at a mosque in Bara in 2008.