Tribal Conflict and local Economy

Tribal Conflict and local Economy

There are three major religious sects in Chitral including, Sunni, Ismaili and the local belief system of Kalash indigenous. Few tribes existing in the area are Katoray, Mehter, quraysh, Khow etc. The biggest tribe in the district is Khow which accounts for 92% of the population. Their origins are from Aryan ancestry and some believe that they came from central Asia, Afghanistan and Kashmir.

2. Dispute Resolution Mechanism

Like other provinces, in Chitral there are also local judiciary systems such as Jigra, Shariah Court etc. Though given the various sects prevailing in the province the Shariah Court is only for Sunni Muslims. The Ismaili communities have their own judiciary system in which they resolve the dispute together with consent. Similarly Kalash’s have their own system of dispute resolution. Some families discuss the disputes with their elders and if a conclusion is not derived then it is taken to the local police or court.

5. 
   The Role of Women
   

Chitral is one of the more deprived areas in Pakistan and requires mass resource allocation in order to bring up its standard of living. Surprisingly, women in Chitral are treated much better than women around the country. While, there are some issues, for the most part, women lead independent lives. According to one report women have always enjoyed a high status within the particular community; they are responsible for the financial and resource utilization disciplines as well as have inherited proper and managed large estates¹. Interestingly, within this singular community, there are two sub communities known as the Kalash and the Khow. Women who belong to the Kalash community tend to be follow ancient tradition more strictly. They do not observe the purdah and mainly work on farmland. The only drawback that they seem to face is that they do not have any say in decision making pertaining to inheritance or any other family matters. On the other end of the spectrum, are the Khow. Women belonging from this community observe the purdah strictly and do not have much mobility within the community. They participate in farm related activities such as the production of silk and handmade crafts. However, over all women tend to adhere to the traditional gender roles but due to socioeconomic changes, they are sometimes forced to break those roles. An example of this would be that since men are leaving the fields for the purpose of employment or education, it is women who are left to managing the farms². They are even expanding education for women and have made it compulsory for school going girls to stop working so that they may focus solely on their studies. While in a majority of sectors, women are still under-employed, they are largely employed by the government.³ This shows that while women do face the same issues everywhere, there are communities that are changing and becoming more accommodating of women and their rights.

6. 
   Social Mobilization
   

The Aga Khan Development Network, Chitral Area Development Project (CADP) and Sarhad Rural Support Program (SRSP) are active organizations in Chitral. Other CSOs are Chitral Integrated Area Development Programme (CIADP) and its implementing partners Integrated Chitral Development Programme (ICDP), Young Star Development Organization (YSDO), Terich Area Development Organization (TADO), Creative Approaches Development (CAD), Broz Integrated Development Program (BIDP).⁴

7. 
   Important Institutions
   

1. Institutions and Stakeholders

District Chitral is comparatively at higher position with regard to literacy rate, as compared to the rest of KPK. Improvement in literacy rate both among male and female population is mostly the direct result of private sector intervention in the education sector, from primary to graduation level. Private sector facilitated the local community in the remote valleys of Laspure, Yarkhoon, Lotkuh, Torkhow and Mulkhow by establishing community based private schools and private colleges which are imparting education to local community in return for affordable fees.

2. Financial Institutions in the District (names plus microfinance projects / status):

Bank of Khyber, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), United Bank Ltd (UBL), Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) are some of the commercial banks branches operating in the area. These banks provide micro financing facilities to the people however, there is no women bank operating. ZTBL and Agha Khan Micro Finance Bank are also among the development banks that are involved in providing microfinance facility to the people.

8. 
   Environmental Analysis
   

District Chitral is in the Malakand Division⁶. Chitral is bordered in the east with Gilgit Baltistan south-east Swat valley, north and north-east by China and the Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan, and in the west by the Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan. In the south of Chitral is situated the Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Chitral is gifted with extremely mysterious and steep harsh mountains, lush green valleys, beautiful meadows and huge glaciers. Chitral is divided into 35 small valleys and sub-valleys.

Grazing lands and forests covers 20%, while the remaining 76% is covered by rocks, mountain and snow clad peaks.⁸ For the majority of habitations, glacier and snow melt from nearby mountains is the main source of water for drinking as well as irrigation, meeting 90% of current needs. Almost every village in Chitral is served by a catchment area from where water is carried to the village through a network of small irrigation channels, most of which have been constructed by local communities. In some places, water from glacier and snow melt exceeds current needs, whereas other villages experience a shortfall. Water flows fluctuate with the seasons, as well as with annual variations in snowfall.

9. 
   Selection of Union Councils for Poverty Survey
   

The objective of the proposed intervention by PPAF is to reduce poverty and improve quality of life of people living in the identified or targeted Union Councils. According to the TORs of the project, three UCs would be selected for the investment intervention in each target district. The TORs also narrates that the specific intention of the project is to strengthen community institutions leading to increased empowerment of local communities and effective creation of livelihood opportunities for community groups.

• 
  first the presence of PPAF in the UC
  
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  second, the extent of existing social mobilization of the community which is represented by the number of community organizations including common interest groups.
  
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  third, the cluster will be formed based on the close vicinity of these UCs and
  
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  four the prevailing law & order situation of the these UCs so that the activities can be executed with ease.
  

Table 9.1 is arranged according to the strength (numbers) of community organizations including common interest groups in the district. The table reveals information regarding various factors considered in the selection exercise. Following UCs of the district are recommended for PPAF intervention.