ISLAMABAD // Tribesmen in a Pakistani region wracked by sectarian violence fuelled by al Qa'eda have agreed to end a four-year blood feud, politicians said.
More than 3,000 people have died in the Kurram area since 2007, after an influx of militants from nearby tribal regions sparked fighting between Shiite and Sunni tribes.
Kurram is one of seven tribal regions of Pakistan bordering eastern Afghanistan, known collectively as the Fata.
Pakistani politicians involved in talks by a 100-member "grand jirga", or council of elders, drawn equally from the rival tribes and their allies, said the agreement was reached in Parachinar on Monday.
"The people of Kurram have been waiting for the restoration of peace for years, and would soon live like brothers again," Malik Waris Khan Afridi, a former minister, told reporters in the region's capital, Parachinar.
The conflict started in 2006 when militants arriving from other tribal areas carried out attacks on Shiites. The situation deteriorated in 2007, when Sunnis blocked a key road in Kurram and Shiites expelled Sunnis from Parachinar.
The peace agreement came amid reports by the Pakistani media that the Haqqani Network, a potent Afghan militant faction based in North Waziristan, had brokered the deal in return for a new safe haven and right of passage into Afghanistan.
The politicians dismissed the reports as "propaganda".
"There is nothing like that. More than 1,200 of our [Shiite] people have been martyred. It is out of the question that we would allow a single Talib any access," Sajid Hussain Turi, who represents Kurram in Pakistan's parliament, told The National.
The politicians said the terms of the agreement would be made public "within days".
Reports in the US and Pakistani media had claimed that the Haqqani Network had become involved in the negotiations in September.
They said Ibrahim and Khalil Haqqani, sons of the network's ailing leader, Jalal-ud-Din Haqqani, had participated in two rounds of talks in September, held in Peshawar.
They also participated at a 10-day session of the 100-member tribal council in Islamabad in December, the reports had said.
The Fata Research Centre, an independent think tank based in Islamabad, said reports of the Haqqanis' involvement had been privately confirmed by members of the tribal council.
It said a scheduled December 25 meeting of the grand jirga, which had been expected to prove decisive, had not materialised because Khalil Haqqani was supposedly not available.
Jirga members were informed that Mr Haqqani was spending Christmas in London, it said.
The militant brothers hosted a delegation of Pakistani politicians, led by Malik Waris Khan Afridi, a former minister, in Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan, on January 3, it said.
The Haqqani Network's bases in North Waziristan, from where it launches attacks against Afghan and US-led Nato forces, are a bone of contention between Pakistan and the United States.
Barack Obama, the US president, in an October report to the Congress, described North Waziristan as the global "epicentre of terrorism".
Washington frequently pressures Islamabad to launch a military operation against the militants there.
The Pakistani government has promised action, but has refused to commit on the timing, saying its military can't launch a new campaign while it is conducting counterterrorist actions in other parts of the Fata and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
It has also been reluctant to act against the Haqqani Network because of a strategic relationship that dates back to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, analysts said.
In return for being permitted to operate freely in the Fata, the network has occasionally acted as an arbitrator between Pakistani militants and the government, they said.
According to Pakistani media reports, the Haqqani Network's commander in North Waziristan, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, has played peacemaker after recent clashes between militant groups and security forces.
Pakistan intelligence sources have said limited, targeted, military operations in North Waziristan are likely by the summer.
That has prompted the Haqqani Network to look for an alternative safe haven in the Fata, the analysts said.
They said Kurram was the network's preferred destination, because it offered the opportunity to spread its operations in Afghanistan northwards to the province of Nangarhar.
"The Bodki-Kharlachi [border] crossing is what the Haqqanis want. If they get it, that would be a great success, because it would put them within 60km of Kabul," said Ashraf Ali, president of the Fata Research Centre.
However, he agreed any such arrangement would not be possible unless the predominantly Shiite Bangash and Turi tribes residing in border areas agreed.
Mr Turi, the parliamentary representative for Kurram, said the success of the agreement, which restates the terms of a 2008 deal, depended on the support of the government and military.
A key expectation of the Shiite tribes is the reopening of the Parachinar-Thall road, the region's only paved link to the Pakistani hinterland, he said. The road has been blockaded since 2007 by Sunni tribesman, allied with militants.
The alliance has been broken by the progress in negotiations, sparking clashes that have killed more than 100 militants, including two prominent commanders.
Mr Turi said the opening of the road would allow the fulfilment of the Shiite tribes' other major condition - the safe return of tens of thousands of people displaced by the violence in Kurram.
thussain@thenational.ae
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
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8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The biog
Mission to Seafarers is one of the largest port-based welfare operators in the world.
It provided services to around 200 ports across 50 countries.
They also provide port chaplains to help them deliver professional welfare services.
The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Burnley 1 (Brady 89')
Manchester City 4 (Jesus 24', 50', Rodri 68', Mahrez 87')
The biog
Born: near Sialkot, Pakistan, 1981
Profession: Driver
Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)
Favourite drink: chai karak
Favourite place in Dubai: The neighbourhood of Khawaneej. “When I see the old houses over there, near the date palms, I can be reminded of my old times. If I don’t go down I cannot recall my old times.”
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The biog
Most memorable achievement: Leading my first city-wide charity campaign in Toronto holds a special place in my heart. It was for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women program and showed me the power of how communities can come together in the smallest ways to have such wide impact.
Favourite film: Childhood favourite would be Disney’s Jungle Book and classic favourite Gone With The Wind.
Favourite book: To Kill A Mockingbird for a timeless story on justice and courage and Harry Potters for my love of all things magical.
Favourite quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
Favourite food: Dim sum
Favourite place to travel to: Anywhere with natural beauty, wildlife and awe-inspiring sunsets.
