Pakistan gets its man -
dead By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - One of Pakistan's most
wanted men, 26-year-old former Taliban commander Nek
Mohammed, has been killed in a Pakistani army raid near
Wana, the district headquarters of the South
Waziristan tribal
area, marking a significant victory for Pakistan and the
United States.
At the same time, Asia Times
Online's contacts warn that Nek's killing coincides with
plans for al-Qaeda to launch a series of attacks in
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Nek, who led fierce
resistance to the Pakistani army's efforts to flush out
foreign fighters (including many belonging to al-Qaeda)
from the tribal areas, died late Thursday at the home of
a tribal chief after an assault on the mud-brick
fortress in which he had taken refuge.
Nek and
his followers were responsible for several ambushes
against the Pakistani army during a March standoff that
left more than 120 people dead in South Waziristan. He
later agreed to cooperate with authorities, but reneged
on his promises to turn over foreign fighters, prompting
the latest round of hostilities in which army officials
said they wanted Nek "dead or alive".
The death
of Nek follows the arrest earlier in the week of Abu
Mosab al-Balochi, an Arab, and Daud Badini, a Pakistani
Baloch who has been involved in many sectarian killings,
in connection with an attack last week on the motorcade
of Karachi's senior military man. Al-Balochi had a US$1
million bounty on his head and is a nephew of Khalid
Sheikh Mohammad, the planner of the September 11, 2001,
attacks on the United States, who is now in US custody.
Sheikh was also arrested in Pakistan more than a year
ago.
Along with Osama bin Laden, his sidekick
Ayman al-Zawahiri, Taliban leader Mullah Omar and Uzbek
leader Tahir Yuldevish - all considered "high-value
targets" suspected to have taken refuge in Waziristan
after the Taliban regime fell in December 2001 - Nek
Mohammed was a key target in the latest Pakistani army
operation.
In a recent interview with the
British Broadcasting Corp (BBC) Pashto service, Nek
threatened to bring the battle from the tribal
territories into urban Pakistan, and popular tapes and
videos in the North West Frontier Province, in which the
tribal areas are located, feature the handsome Nek
calling for jihad against "foreign invaders" in
Afghanistan and against Pakistani troops in the tribal
areas.
Nek was a linchpin in supplying foreign
fighters and Afghan resistance figures in the tribal
areas with hideouts, rations and recruits.
Asia
Times Online contacts in the tribal areas say that the
day before he died, Nek led a group of insurgents in an
attack on an army camp in which a number of soldiers
died. That prompted a massive Pakistani response,
involving the army, jet aircraft and helicopters.
According to the sources, Nek was tracked by
Pakistani and US authorities through his mobile
telephone to a house in a place called Doog, near Wana,
which was heavily attacked at about 9:45 in the evening.
Two aides of Nek and two small children were also
killed.
Nek was trained by the Taliban in
Afghanistan, and soon became a member of their
commanding council. After September 11, 2001, and the
US-led invasion of Afghanistan leading to the fall of
the Taliban regime, Nek was placed in charge of Afghan
areas near the Pakistani border.
He played a key
role in the evacuation of Arab families and dozens of
women, children and injured, helping them return to
their countries of origin. Many wanted to stay in the
region and fight on, so he helped them settle in the
tribal areas, from where the current Afghan resistance
grew.
Nek remained loyal to Mullah Omar until
the last, and on his instructions Nek continued to
protect dozens of foreign families and fighters. In the
past few weeks, though, he was increasingly isolated as
the US turned the screws on Pakistan to "clean out" the
tribal areas, and he was caught between the Pakistani
army on the one side and the heavy US military presence
across the border in Afghanistan.
Nek's death
will have a major impact on the insurgency in the tribal
areas, as the charismatic leader was a vital rallying
point and his single-minded resistance will be missed,
and his removal from the scene will also set back the
Afghan resistance movement.
On the other hand,
Asia Times Online has learned from sources close to
al-Qaeda that it has decided on a new strategy to target
pro-US interests and people in Pakistan and Saudi
Arabia.
The battle is not over yet.
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Waziristan tribal
area, marking a significant victory for Pakistan and the
United States. 
