North Waziristan: Seven days on, power supply cut to three sub-divisions

There has been a blackout in three sub-divisions of North Waziristan Agency, Razmak, Mir Ali and Miranshah, for the past seven days. Due to the power cuts, the areas are now suffering from a severe water shortage. The electricity cuts persist due to tribal disputes between the Mamad Khel, Sari Khel and Pathack Khel tribes. The Mamad Khel tribe from Frontier Region (FR) Bannu started taking electricity illegally from electricity transmission lines in North Waziristan, disrupting power supply in order to pressurise the government. A jirga was conducted in June by Mamad Khel and Sari Khel, where the Mamad Khel tribe said that Baka Khel and Pathack Khel have been illegally using their electricity for 14 months and now they are without power. Two weeks prior to that, Mamad Khel and Sari Khel had set up illegal connections on the main supply line of North Waziristan, cutting off the other tribes’ electricity for three days. Twelve tribesmen were arrested for the power cuts, but were released soon after. Participants from the Mamad tribe claimed that their men have nothing to do with the power cuts and were wrongfully accused, once again alleging that Baka and Pathack were involved. They also threatened to ban the entry of polio teams in their area if their men were not released and the illegal power supply is not disconnected from their feeder. The Mamad Khel tribe once again cut off electric supply to three sub-divisions of North Waziristan Agency, Razmak, Mir Ali and Miranshah a day before Eidul Azha and since then they have been without electricity. “We sit in dark rooms at night and people are facing a dire shortage of water at their homes, hospitals, schools and mosques,” a resident of North Waziristan, Malik Gul Sajan told The Express Tribune, adding that soon their water supply will finish if the government does not take action. A resident of Mir Ali, Liaqat Khan, said that they have to bring water from other areas. One barrel of water costs Rs500, which carries approximately 10 gallons of water, he said. “We do not have water at our homes as there is no electricity to run the motor to draw water from wells,” he added. When an elder of Mamad Khel, Malik Badshah Noor, was asked why they cut the power supply, he said: “If Pathack Khel does not take out their illegal connection and let our share of electricity pass, we will not allow electricity for other areas to pass from our soil.” When the political administration of North Waziristan and FR Bannu were contacted regarding the issue, they said that a jirga is already working to resolve the matter.