Pakistan's flames of war
spread By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - Amid reports of an escalation of
resistance and even foreign complicity, fighting
continues between the army and suspected al-Qaeda
militants in Pakistan's tribal region of South
Waziristan on the border with Afghanistan.
Tribal elders had earlier tried to talk foreign
militants and their local supporters into surrendering
during a break in the fighting that began in earnest
last week. But the army apparently was not prepared to
wait any longer, and nor were their targets, as
overnight reports filtered in of attacks on military
bases in other parts of the troubled region, and even a
rocket attack on Peshawar, the capital of North West
Frontier Province.
More disturbingly, there have
been confirmed reports of dissent among the ranks of the
Pakistani para-military troops and the army sent into
the semi-autonomous region to flush out al-Qaeda and
Afghan resistance suspects. More than 5,000 forces have
been deployed in the region.
At the same time,
talking to Asia Times Online, a high-level army officer,
speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that India's
Research and Analysis Wing as well as the Northern
Alliance - which makes up most of the government in
Afghanistan - were attempting to exploit the volatile
situation in the tribal areas to foment further unrest.
"Yes, there are reports of infiltration from across the
[Afghan] border and there is a fear that the Afghan
Northern Alliance and Indian intelligence will take
advantage of the situation and try their level best to
further deteriorate the situation," he said.
On
Tuesday, Rehmatullah Wazir, the assistant political
agent of South Waziristan, said that army reinforcements
had reached Wana in South Waziristan as rebel tribesmen
had shown no flexibility in refusing to hand over
suspects. "The jirga [delegation of tribals]
turned out to be ineffective and only succeeded in
speaking to some lower-level people, the leaders did not
speak," he said.
The Corps Commander in
Peshawar, Lieutenant-General Safdar Hussain, on Tuesday
visited Dera Ismail Khan, the closest urban center to
South Waziristan, where he attended a briefing with the
army on its the next moves.
According to a local
resident in the area, fresh fighting began late Tuesday
evening when Pakistan army troops occupied the homes of
people in Kalooshah, situated in South Waziristan near
the Afghanistan border.
At the same time,
Pakistani authorities forcibly removed all foreign and
local journalists from the area. Several local media
persons who worked as stringers for foreign
publications, including one for Asia Times Online, were
taken into custody and then released after having their
cameras and tape recorders confiscated.
Resistance spreads The level of
resistance to the Pakistan army in the tribal areas - by
both foreign militants and local tribespeople - has been
far greater than anticipated, according to security
people who spoke to Asia Times Online. They claim that
the reaction has now reached dangerous levels as it
appears to be spreading beyond South and North
Waziristan to the other five tribal regions. Attacks
have been reported in Khuram agency (Parachanar) on army
troops. There have also been protest rallies in Khyber
agency, with tribal leaders warning that if the army
does not withdraw from South Waziristan, they will join
hands with Wazir tribes there.
The country's top
brass are obviously deeply concerned at the situation,
but are compelled to push on with the operation as the
United States is applying heavy pressure on Islamabad to
remain committed. As a result, cracks are already
appearing within the army as some ranks are unwilling to
take on their countrymen. In one publicized case, a
major refused to fly a helicopter gunship.
According to another officer, who served in
North Waziristan as a junior officer, the Data Khail
tribe is traditionally the most disliked among all Wazir
tribesmen. These tribesmen are generally very primitive
and have a long record of being associated with heroin
trafficking, car theft and child abductions, where the
children are sold into slave labor. Many a criminal from
across Pakistan has taken refuge with them - for a fee.
However, after the emergence of the Taliban in
Pakistan in the 1990s, the Data Khail were widely
reformed. Poppy cultivation is now prohibited in their
areas, mosques and Islamic seminaries have been built
and many of the young lads were educated in the famous
Haqqania seminary of Akora Khattack in Pakistan, from
where they returned to their homeland to improve the lot
of their people.
Now, in this time of crisis,
despite their notorious past, other Wazir tribes have
joined with the Data Khail in the name of jihad and
mujahideens. The battle continues.
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