Second round: Worse than the
first By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - Prodded by an impatient United States,
Pakistani paramilitary troops have gone on the offensive
in the hunt for foreign fighters in the tribal areas on
the border with Afghanistan. In fierce clashes in
the Ghat Ghar area, about 20 miles west of Wana, the
main town in the South Waziristan tribal area, Asia
Times Online contacts report that 18 Pakistani security
troops and eight insurgents were killed on Wednesday.
Pakistani officials have acknowledged the death of 20
insurgents and one paramilitary soldier, according to
Brigadier Mahmood Shah, chief of security for Pakistan's
tribal regions.
The bloodshed follows weeks of
failed efforts to get militants in South Waziristan to
surrender to authorities by peaceful means after an army
offensive in March left scores of people dead in the
face of strong resistance by tribal fighters to the
Pakistani army. The militants have refused to register
with authorities despite a government amnesty offer that
would allow them to settle in Pakistan if they renounce
terrorism and abide by national laws.
Following
the reversals in March, and the bitter feelings that the
presence of the army aroused in the tribal areas,
Pakistan has been extremely reluctant to use troops
again. But US pressure has been relentless, and US
officials were even seen in a Pakistani army camp in
Wana involved in directing the latest operations. These
began after rockets were fired on an army camp in Wana,
as well as on some check posts in North Waziristan in
the wee hours of Wednesday. Both ground troops and the
air force were involved.
Significantly, the
initial attacks were made from the Mehsood tribal area,
which up to now has been considered pro-Pakistan
government with no kinship in Afghanistan. Indeed, in
the March offensive, they actually took the government
side against the Wazir tribes who headed the resistance.
Now they appear to have thrown in their lot with the
Wazirs.
The most immediate target of the army is
Nek Mohammed, a key Pakistani leader of the insurgency
in the tribal areas, but his deep connections allowed
him to disappear long before the trouble began. Nek
being a target could explain the sudden resistance from
the Mehsood tribals. When the hunt was for foreign
targets, they supported the initiative, but when it is
for a Pakistani national, they resist.
Nek is a
26-year-old former Taliban commander and loyal to
Taliban leader Mullah Omar. He outright rejects any
compromise in handing over foreign fighters to Pakistan
(read US) authorities, such as Aiman al-Zawahir or his
al-Qaeda boss, Osama bin Laden (if he is even alive) and
Uzbek leader Tahir Yuldevish.
Wednesday's
clashes were preceded by several days of last-ditch
Pakistan attempts to stave off the dreaded military
option, including a threat to raze Wana's main bazaar, a
move that would economically ruin the tribals. All this
achieved, though, was to draw more tribals into the
resistance camp, which is becoming increasingly more
organized. Asia Times Online contacts in Wana say that
the tribals will use more sophisticated ams than before,
and attempt to open up several fronts, including the
urban centers of North West Frontier Province, in which
the tribal areas are located.
Even the
anti-Taliban and nationalist National Awami Party
opposed the use of force, with its central secretary
general, Latif Afridi, asking the government to withdraw
its troops.
The scene is now set for even more
fierce resistance than in March: the previous operation
was clearly targeted at foreign elements, especially
"high-value" ones. However, as most tribals know, most
of the foreigners have already left the area, and now
the focus is on a Pakistani - Nek. When the skirmishes
began on Wednesday, the 4,000-strong tribal
lashkar (para-military force) was conspicuous by
its non-involvement - it did not fire a single bullet on
the insurgents, which forced the Pakistani army itself
to step in once again into the quagmire of South
Waziristan.
Separately, Afghan and US forces claim to have
killed scores of Taliban rebels in a seven-day operation
in mountainous Zabul province in Afghanistan. Jan
Mohammed Khan, commander of Afghan forces and the
governor of neighboring Uruzgan province, said that 73
Taliban fighters were killed and 13 captured over seven
days, while six Afghan government forces and four
coalition soldiers were wounded and none killed.
In another development, at least 11 Chinese
construction workers were shot dead on Wednesday when
gunmen launched a night-time raid on their compound
south of the northern town of Kunduz. Up to 20 armed men
stormed the site and opened fire in what the Chinese
embassy said was a "terrorist attack".
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