In Pakistan, tribal laws under fire

"My only crime was belonging to the Yargul Khel tribe," says Javed Khan, one of the victims of the collective punishment. "I do not support Al Qaeda. I did not shelter anybody, but I was arrested, my shop was sealed."

Pakistani authorities say tribesmen were given fair warning that the tribal laws would be used if they failed to hand over the militants.

"When I was a student of history, I used to think ... let's abolish these old tribal laws. But now that I am ... directly dealing with tribesmen, I feel otherwise," says Asmatullah Gandapur, the political agent in South Waziristan. "These laws work effectively because they are made according to the attitudes of locals, tribal customs, and traditions."

Advocates of collective punishment argue that it reflects the collective decisionmaking of the tribes. They also argue that it is the price the tribes pay for autonomy because effective individual punishment would require the full-time presence of state police and judges.

Then there's the belief that violence is a language that Pashtuns understand.

"Once somebody asked the famous Afghan ruler, Amir Abdur Rehman, why people called him Iron King. He replied, 'Because Iron King has to deal with iron people,' " says Mr. Gandapur.

Handling warrior tribes with iron fists has certainly been the history. But educated tribesmen and analysts argue that such methods are no longer effective, pointing to recent events as evidence.

"Many local tribesmen who thought they were innocent did not extend support to the authorities after becoming victims to the laws like collective punishment," says Sailab Mehsud, expert on South Waziristan.

Educated tribesmen say the influence of the maliks has decreased, and the jirgas have lost their ability to honestly confront the most sensitive issues, such as the foreign militants.

"The young generation of tribesmen is trying to get an education, [trying to] have access to ... computers," says Mr. Mehsud. "They want to get rid of these black laws and corrupt maliks and bureaucrats which have become hurdles to their development."

Islamabad is beginning to introduce local government by setting up tribal councils. The councilors will be nominated by the political authorities and through jirgas. Some tribesmen say holding elections for the councilors would have been a more democratic approach.

Meanwhile, there's new hope for the release of Zarmineh. The governor of the Northwest Frontier Province announced over the weekend that children in the tribal areas will be governed by the provincial juvenile justice system, not the Frontier Crimes Regulation.

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