Local Taliban militants and tribal elders have reached a unique verbal agreement under which the former will respect the tribal code of life in Mohmand Agency and not interfere in local customs, officials and tribal sources said on Tuesday. This is the first time the Taliban have agreed not to interfere in the tribal code of life since they emerged as a force after the ouster of Mullah Omar’s government in Afghanistan in 2001. “Two groups of Taliban agreed to a demand from elders of the Haleemzai and Saafi tribes that they would not interfere in tribal affairs,” the sources told Daily Times. A nine-member jirga of the two major tribes reached the verbal agreement with the Taliban on June 15, days after tension between the Taliban and local tribal elders rose amidst fear the militants were interfering in tribal customs,
According to tribal elders, Amir Gul, a resident of Mian Mandi, had a feud with blood relatives who were close to the Taliban and they ordered him to settle his dispute with his relatives according to their wishes. Under the tribal code, a dispute between two persons has to be decided by local elders and no individual or group can dictate terms to one side or the other to settle the dispute. The ultimatum from the Taliban for Amir Gul was seized as a threat to tribal traditions and the Haleemzai and Saafi tribes met on June 14 in Ghazi Beg to take up the issue with the Taliban.
It was not clear what “concessions” the two tribes gave to the Taliban in return for their commitment to respect tribal traditions. Tribal elder Muhammad Ali Haleemzai was instrumental in the verbal agreement with the Taliban. “We followed a live-and-let-live policy,” he told Daily Times by phone from Shabqadar in Charsadda district. “The Taliban leaders told us at the jirga it was a misunderstanding as they are concerned with jihad only and do not mean to interfere in local traditions,” he said.