By Aamir Latif
ISLAMABAD
Sanobar Khan, 40, is one of the hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced by an ongoing military operation in the militancy-plagued North Waziristan in Pakistan. But he did not opt for lodging in the government shelter camp located in the adjoining Bannu district.
He had a better option.
A father of three, Sanobar has been lodging in the house of a fellow tribesman in southern part of Bannu -- the result of an ancient tradition among Pashtun.
The centuries-old "Pashtunwali" custom, which still dominates tribal culture in Pakistan, as well as in neighboring Afghanistan demands that a Pashtun must provide fellow tribesmen with food and ‘panah’ (shelter) in times of need.
"To provide shelter and food to our fellow tribesmen if needed is nothing unusual in our society, Khan Mohammad, who has provided shelter to Sanobar's family, told the Anadolu Agency. "They can even claim for that because we are bound to help them."
Both Sanobar and Khan belong to Dawar tribe of North Waziristan, which makes up 40 percent of the population of North Waziristan.
Out of the 700,000 internally displaced in North Waziristan, according to Pakistan's emergency management authority, a mere 230 have chosen to lodge in government shelter camps located on the outskirts of Bannu. A true testament to the Pashtunwali tradition’s perpetuation.
"Things were disordered in the initial days," Khan said, as people had left their homes and hearths in a hurry. "But, now things are coming to order. People from the Dawar tribe are helping their fellow tribesmen, while Waziris (Utmanzai Wazir) are responsible for their tribal fellows," Khan added.
Utmanzai Wazir is another tribe that constitutes 40 percent of North Waziristan population.
"This is not a favor. This is their right. They are going through a hard time, and it is my responsibility to help them", said Sahibzada Tariqullah, another North Waziristan resident who is based in Bannu and is hosting two families from his Wazir tribe
On June 15th, the Pakistani army launched an operation in North Waziristan to root out the militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a Taliban umbrella organization of different insurgent networks in Pakistan. So far, around 400 militants have been killed, according to the Pakistani army. The figures, however, cannot be verified as the media have not been allowed in the region. Fourteen soldiers have also been killed in blasts and clashes with the Taliban since June 15.
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