Pakistani tribes await 'full force'
offensive By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - The fighting between Pakistani forces
and tribespeople in the country's South Waziristan
agency may have come to an end, but the silence isn't
expected to last long, with Pakistani troops set to
launch a "full force" offensive in the area on the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border to flush out supporters of
the Afghan resistance. But the failure of the present
operation in the tribal areas has not only
destroyed the writ of the Pakistani security forces and
the state of Pakistan there, but also the proxy network
of the United States.
South Waziristan is a
natural hotbed and a focal point of the Afghan
resistance. Asia Times Online was the first publication
to point this out, in January 2003 (A bloody destiny for South
Waziristan Jan 10, 2003), recognizing
that South Waziristan would play the most significant
role in the future of the Afghan resistance. South
Waziristan is one of seven federally administered tribal
agencies where fiercely independent tribes have been
allowed to govern their own affairs.
Fighting
erupted on Tuesday in South Waziristan as US-led forces
began a spring offensive to eradicate Taliban and
al-Qaeda remnants in Afganistan. Under intense US
pressure, the Pakistani military is supposed to be doing
its bit on the Pakistan side of the border. At least 15
Pakistani military personnel and 24 "suspects"
Further clashes similar to the New
Year's Day gun battle in which two Pakistanis died
and at least one US soldier was wounded are only a
matter of time. A bloody destiny for South
Waziristan (Jan 10, '03)
Asia
Times
Online
were
reported killed in Tuesday's battle, most of the latter
said to be tribespeople suspected of sheltering
militants. Well-placed sources in South Waziristan
agency's headquarters in Wana tell Asia Times Online
that at the fighting has stopped, but there is a large
mobilization of Pakistani troops underway, an indication
that another big operation is looming.
"Five
army helicopters carrying army personnel landed in Wana
Wednesday evening ... three helicopters left the area
while two are still in Wana. [Wednesday] was spent in
the Scout camp for funeral prayers and arrangements to
send the bodies of the personnel to their ancestral
lands. But it seems another operation is in the cards
either tomorrow or the day after ... but whenever it
comes it would emerge with full force," said one source
who wished to remain unnamed.
The area is so
tense at the moment that in many areas, from Azam Warsak
to the Afghan border, villagers are migrating to safer
places. The villages in Kaloo Shah and Chugantai are now
completely empty. Since Asia Times Online reported on
Wednesday that about 250 hostages had been taken by the
tribespeople, several have since been released,
including some junior personnel who belong to the Khasa
Dar force - a local police force - on the condition that
they would not participate in any action in the future.
But a large number remain captive, including the few
non-commissioned officers of the Scout Force.
The handling of Tuesday's situation by Pakistan
authorities was so crude and abrupt that there is little
hope of anything developing other than all-out war.
Previously, Pakistani authorities dealt with the tribal
leaders with carrots and sticks sometimes threats,
sometimes additional privy purses. This time, however,
officials chose to ignore the tribespeople altogether
and simply intrude. As a result, tribal fighters and all
tribal leaders (now wanted by the government of
Pakistan) like Naik Mohammed, Sharif, and Islam Maulvi
Abbas - all belonging to the Zali Khail Ahmed Zai Wazir
tribe - have taken refuge in the local mountains.
A break for the Afghan resistance The
most troublesome areas in Afghanistan, including Ghazni,
Argon, Shakin, and Paktia, are situated near South
Waziristan. The mountains and thick jungles of the
border areas are the places where first the Afghan
resistance and now the Pakistani tribal fighters have
taken refuge.
High-level sources in Wana
maintain that the manner in which Pakistani forces
retreated after the tribals challenged them indicate
that Pakistani authorities will not be able to control
the tribals without the use of air bombing - an event
that would have a lasting political impact and cause
much unrest in the Pakistan army, given that at least 30
percent of its officers and soldiers come from North
West Frontier Province.
Considering the
limitations facing the Pakistan troops, the anarchy
prevailing in the area will play into the hands of
extremists on both sides of the border.
There
are already 50,000 Afghan refugees living in South
Waziristan - some of whom took refuge in Pakistan when
the former USSR attacked Afganistan. It is difficult to
tell the rebel Afghans from the non-rebel Afghans, as
both come from the same areas, like Ghazni and Argon.
Meanwhile, the present situation has wreaked
havoc on the US's proxy network in the area, which was
established with painstakingly thorough efforts. There
are some tribes in South Waziristan which are
anti-Taliban. The US cultivated them and they became the
coalition's main human resource in the area, as they
used to spy on the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and their
proteges. The present operation, however, has caught all
of these anti-Taliban forces on the back foot. The
tribal lashkar (tribal army) that was established
with the support of the Pakistani administration in
South Waziristan to fight insurgent tribals, Taliban and
al-Qaeda, was besieged in Tuesday's fighting. Six
hundred lashkar troops were taken hostage and only freed
after they laid down their weapons and vowed not to
cooperate with the government of Pakistan. Culturally
speaking, this situation highlights the values of tribal
society. Once a commitment or apology is made, a person
must always keep his word or leave his native village
forever.
After Tuesday's chaos, it is likely
that pro-Taliban forces will now rule over affairs in
the tribal areas. The pro-US forces - on whom a lot of
money was spent to buy their loyalty - have now
vanished..
At the same time, the writ of the
state of Pakistan was the real casualty in the South
Waziristan operation, as the other tribal areas are also
likely to adopt a rebellious stance and will rise
against the presence of the Pakistan army in the tribal
lands.
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areas has not only
destroyed the writ of the Pakistani security forces and
the state of Pakistan there, but also the proxy network
of the United States. 
