To date, no outside power in the world has been able to effectively deliver and tame the proud Afghans. It was the political genius of Muhammad Ali Jinnah which realised this fact and immediately went into an agreement with tribals on this side of Durand Line - for a limited writ of the government- in what is now known as Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). This was in lieu of maximum freedom and allowed trans-border movement between divided tribes and families sans restrictions. Since then, tribesmen living in FATA have been known loyalists and most egoistic and efficient in managing themselves as per their Pashtun code of conduct.

The tribesmen have a tradition whereby they unite to fight foreign powers at the first sign of intervention, following the principle of moving out (to fight and resist) when foreign powers move in. Moreover, tribals have a history of resisting development to protect their freedom and until recently, vast tracts of land have been 'no go' areas. It is against this backdrop that Lieutenant General Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai, himself a tribal man, won accolades for having made ingress into even the worst known 'no go' areas in the name of development while Corps Commander (11 Corps). His intimate knowledge of tribal culture in Waziristan was the reason for the early departure of his predecessor and his own appointment as governor NWFP. A change in approach was then always on the card and, in fact, is likely to have been his primary assignment.

Pakistan has so far lost nearly 700 of its security forces personnel besides a couple of hundred loyal maliks in Waziristan. President Musharraf's political base has never been so weak and even his sincerity of purpose has been questioned by his Allies. Two previous accords did not work and the security forces were forced to continue with punitive strikes, resulting in an increasing loss of civilian lives. Since the militants and the tribal elders showed their willingness to reach and honour an accord, Musharraf had no choice but to accept the accord.

This change in strategy, with Pakistan's strategic reserves still in the area, in no way suggests any let up in the resolve of Pakistan's leadership to pursue the objective for which the troops had been sent there in the first place. In fact, President Musharraf has done so at great personal risk. Unfortunately, and ironically, it is being alleged that he is sponsoring attempts to destabilise Afghanistan and is being asked to do more by the Allies.

Fighting sub-conventional forces demands a calm and surgical approach. These elements have the initiative to strike and, aim at spreading resentment against the security forces, forcing them to be deployed in an area of their own choosing. Large scale employment of Army units and formations against such forces is militarily not very prudent and Lebanon's recently concluded war is an apt example. Employment of army and air forces - in such an environment - causes collateral damage. Nervous actions and reactions by security forces personnel induce further resentment, particularly in the hearts and minds of non-militant civilians - especially women and children. The operations against such elements should, therefore, be spearheaded by intelligence outfits duly backed up with surgical strikes from secure bases.

The recently concluded agreement, though vulnerable to misinterpretation and abuse by the militants or other vested interests, is likely to withstand the test of time for the following reasons:

• The Accord has come about through a political process in concurrence with the ethos of tribal society after the security forces as well as the militants have learnt the requisite lessons.

• The conduct and stay of the foreign elements, if any, has been regulated as well as guaranteed.

• Stopping trans-border operations has been agreed to.

• The writ of the government has been accepted.

• A good beginning has been made and implementation of the agreement in its letter and spirit is well under way.

• New check posts (along roads) have been withdrawn, not border posts.

• The ensuing peace would facilitate establishment of economic opportunity zones with the help of the US, thereby bringing a new era of development and prosperity besides becoming a formidable barrier in the Talibanisation of the area.

The war on terror is a stupendous task and has to be executed using military as well as political approaches. The latter would be more rewarding as well as enduring. The allies in this war have to trust each other to achieve synergetic effects. It is very easy to assign blame to others. If movement across the US-Mexico border and within Kashmir, despite being the most militarised areas in the world, cannot be checked effectively, the Durand Line can never be sealed a 100 per cent even if it is fenced or mined as Pakistan has suggested. There is a need to complement each other in this fight rather than casting aspersions on partners in cause and purpose.