A change of US plan for Pakistan

Benazir Bhutto.


A change of US plan for Pakistan
By M K Bhadrakumar

Three top-ranking US officials spoke in unison over the weekend, hinting at direct US military strikes inside Pakistan - White House spokesman Tony Snow, White House Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend, and National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell.
The US media have since carried reports quoting unnamed sources that the White House is already weighing "options" involving "deniable covert action" by US special forces inside Pakistan; US air strikes against "known terrorist compounds" in Pakistan's tribal areas; or a large-scale ground offensive across the border from Afghanistan.
Yet twice within the week before these White House officials spoke, assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher gave an altogether different assessment of the nature of the strife in Pakistan's tribal areas, and Washington's approach to it. On July 12, Boucher testified before Congress and on July 17 he gave a detailed press briefing in Washington.
Contradictory assessments
In his congressional testimony, Boucher viewed the situation in Pakistan with a high degree of equanimity. He repeatedly underlined the US administration's confidence in Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf's handling of the complicated politico-security situation in Pakistan's tribal areas. Boucher spoke optimistically about Musharraf's "comprehensive strategy to combat terrorists and extremists".
Boucher cited how the Pakistani government's strategy was already boosting the "capacity and will of local tribes to resist and expel violent extremists in their midst, achieving successes". He concluded his testimony on July 12 by saying, "Pakistani security operations in the tribal areas are disrupting terrorist activities in an area where terrorists previously felt secure."
In his briefing on July 17, Boucher was even more forthright in endorsing Musharraf's resolve and capacity to act against terrorism. "The first thing I would say is the Pakistani government is dealing decisively with the problems ... the government of Pakistan is prepared to move, to act against dangerous militancy that has come to infect various areas in parts of Pakistani society." He viewed the so-called Waziristan agreement not as an aberration but as in essence a well-intentioned move on Musharraf's part that somehow didn't work. This peace agreement, now in tatters, saw the Pakistani military withdraw from the tribal areas in return for the people there stopping cross-border activity into Afghanistan.
Interestingly, Boucher attributed the recent spurt in extremist violence in Pakistan as a natural reaction to Musharraf's six-month-old crackdown on militancy rather than as a phenomenon of resurgence by terrorists. He didn't display any concern as such about an al-Qaeda presence in Pakistan's tribal agencies.
Boucher categorically ruled out the need for any direct US military involvement. He said, "That'll be for the Pakistani government to decide how to go about it militarily ... and we'll obviously work with them." Boucher also asked rhetorically, "Is he [Musharraf] capable of doing this without the United States? The answer is yes, but it's not a question that's really going to arise, because he's going to have our support."
The most interesting part of Boucher's presentation was that, unlike the White House officials named above, he believes the forces of militancy and extremism operating in Pakistan's tribal agencies are increasingly on the run in the face of relentless pressure from Pakistani security forces. And he drew satisfaction that Pakistani Taliban are reeling under pressure too.
In short, what we find is that within 48 hours, the pendulum in Washington swung to the other extreme, culminating in the stunning statement by Snow on Thursday, "We never rule out any options, including striking actionable targets" within Pakistan.
But then Snow also shifted his stance rather abruptly. On July 17, he had said, "If you talk - when you talk about going in there [Pakistan's tribal areas], you don't blithely go into another nation and conduct operations ... we are working with a sovereign nation which is an ally with us, in this particular case. And when it comes to Pakistan, the United States has, in fact, been continuously working with President Musharraf, and we're going to do what we can to try to strengthen his hand in whatever he needs."
The next day, Snow followed up by giving details of how the United States proposed to "strengthen" Musharraf's hands - by committing US$750 million over a five-year period for the economic development of Pakistan's tribal areas and by providing $300 million a year in foreign military financing to support Pakistan's Frontier Corps.
Snow repeated that the US couldn't get directly involved militarily in curbing militancy in Pakistan's tribal areas. He said, "Pakistan is a sovereign government, and Pervez Musharraf is a man who, as president of Pakistan, has an obligation and a challenge to do what he thinks is going to be most effective in securing peace within his own land ..."
Evidently, the White House spokesman came under instructions to raise the ante overnight by hinting at direct US military involvement in Pakistan's tribal areas. What changed on the ground to warrant such a dramatic shift in White House thinking? The only new factor was that Musharraf's standing within Pakistan became highly precarious after the Supreme Court judgment in Islamabad last Friday to reinstate Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
Bhutto's travails
All of a sudden it began to look that Washington's best-laid plans to work out a "democratic transition" involving Musharraf and exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had gone awry. Boucher had said as recently as July 17, "I think it was noteworthy that Benazir Bhutto expressed her support for the action of the Red Mosque ... So there is sort of a logical, moderate center to Pakistani politics that we hope we can help - can emerge through a democratic election." Boucher was referring to the Pakistani military's recent storming of the radical Lal Masjid.
The Supreme Court verdict dramatically altered the political equations within Pakistan. For one thing, Bhutto has begun developing cold feet about Musharraf's staying power. At the very least, she is marking time, waiting and watching the rapidly developing flow of events. She has since told the London Sunday Times that Musharraf "has lost his moral authority. His popularity rates are down, and it would be very unpopular if we saved him. We would lose votes by being associated with him."
As an experienced politician, Bhutto seems to have done her homework. Despite her anxiety to preserve the US administration's newfound goodwill toward her (after keeping her at arm's length in recent years), Bhutto's instincts of political survival are getting the better of her. She sizes up that in the downstream, an assertive judiciary may now well proceed in the coming weeks to frustrate Musharraf's plans to get elected for a second time by the same Parliament and to serve both as president and chief of army staff.
So Bhutto must be pondering: What is the use of a political deal even if Washington were to underwrite one? She must be nervous that the virulently anti-Musharraf front comprising opposition parties led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in alliance with the religious parties and most minor parties may already be stealing a march over her in Pakistani public opinion. She cut a sorry figure by not insisting that Musharraf should step down after the Supreme Court judgement, as many other opposition stalwarts promptly demanded last Friday.
Bhutto knows that the mood of the powerful Deobandi clergy is changing, too. The powerful Wafaqul Madaris - a federation of religious schools - may be showing signs of shedding their aversion to the hurly-burly of politics. Certainly, it now becomes very difficult for Bhutto to mobilize electoral support in Punjab and North-West Frontier Province. It is a matter of time before Sharif will become the leader of a reinstated Pakistan Muslim League (PML) once the time-servers of the PML who gathered around Musharraf begin to scatter.
Sharif is straining to return to Pakistan. Unlike Bhutto, he has no cases pending against him in the Pakistani courts. Therefore, in a fair election, Bhutto would still face an uphill struggle to become prime minister again. The alliance of Punjabi right-wing politicians and the militant clergy would definitely be more than a match, even if she conquered Sindh in alliance with Muttahida Qaumi Movement. Worse still, the alliance may enjoy the tacit support of sizable sections of the security establishment, including rank-and-file soldiers.
The problem is evidently not a straightforward one of the military's intrusive role in Pakistan's national life. It is not as if liberal democracy would ensue once the military withdrew into the barracks, and which would save the country from extremism. As a Pakistani scholar put it, "Islamic parties have learned that they can use the modern notions of elections and democracy as instruments for advancing their Islamic ideological agenda. They are not committed to democracy and constitutionalism as a doctrine for governance and societal organization. Their commitment to democracy is purely instrumental."
Besides, the problem is also that the US support for Musharraf (and Bhutto) is feeding into Pakistan's boiling cauldron of political antagonisms. Clearly, any deal with Musharraf in the present scenario, under perceived US tutelage, will prove to be extremely damaging politically for Bhutto. Also, it seems highly improbable that Musharraf, who is hopelessly isolated politically, is in any position now to announce elections next week - as he must - so that they could be held just in time before his term ends in October.
Politics of fear
Thus Washington suddenly finds itself caught between a rock and a hard place. It is no longer a matter of a "moderate center" accruing in Pakistani politics and providing "a basis for the whole society to fight terrorism", to quote Boucher. The immediate concern is, short of an outright army coup, Washington has to figure out how Musharraf's continuance in office can be ensured.
In the present supercharged political climate in Pakistan, the probability is high that a civilian government that takes over power in Islamabad will be highly sensitive about the public attitude with regard to the United States' blatant interference in Pakistan and its perceived hostility toward Muslims worldwide. In short, any abdication by Musharraf or the Pakistan Army from the political scene becomes simply inconceivable for Washington at this juncture.
The stakes are very high for US regional policies. Under a representative government formed on the basis of civilian supremacy, US intelligence agencies wouldn't be able to have a free run within Pakistan as they can under Musharraf's acquiescent regime. It is also a virtual certainty that the Pakistani courts would begin to look into the horrific cases of the "disappearance" of hundreds of Pakistanis in security operations involving US intelligence agencies during the course of the "war on terror".
Most critically, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations in Afghanistan may be seriously jeopardized. Boucher virtually told US Congress members on July 12 not to fiddle with Musharraf's regime. He warned: "Much less frequently mentioned is Pakistani cooperation in facilitating the logistical support of the United States and NATO forces deployed in neighboring Afghanistan. Most of our support for coalition forces in Afghanistan passes through Pakistan."
Given the interplay of these complex factors, Washington may have to resort to the one available "exit strategy" - imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan. It is not Washington's problem that the survival of Pakistan is in the medium term critically dependent on the restoration of democracy and rule of law. For the present US administration, the priority will be to salvage the war in Afghanistan. It doesn't want to leave a legacy of losing two wars in a row. If the end justifies the means, Washington will not hesitate to engineer a pretext for the imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan.
This is not the first time the White House has invoked Osama bin Laden's name at a critical juncture in its political calendar. President George W Bush resorted to the politics of fear with stunning success during his re-election campaign in 2004. Bush knows that the common American is trapped by a fear of bin Laden and al-Qaeda. In the present context, al-Qaeda becomes a "dual-use" fantasy.
A series of spectacular air strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas, with their brooding mountains, apparently hunting down the near-mythical bin Laden, will surely brush up Bush's image as a man of action in safeguarding "homeland security". On the other hand, it is bound to trigger such mayhem within Pakistan that it becomes eminently logical for the army leadership there to impose emergency rule and postpone elections. And the international community would have no choice but to accept such an outcome.
At this point, Bush can be certain of "bipartisan" support in any action he takes in regard of "homeland security". On a weekend that belonged to Harry Potter, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said, "We have the intelligence report, which says al-Qaeda during this administration is stronger than ever. I don't think we should take anything off the table. Wherever we find these evil people, we should go get them."
M K Bhadrakumar served as a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service for more than 29 years, with postings including ambassador to Uzbekistan (1995-98) and to Turkey (1998-2001).

(Copyright 2007 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

Pakistan's Pashtun 'problem'

Pakistan's Pashtun 'problem'
By Haroun Mir

Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing.
At least since September 11, 2001, most of the perpetrators of terrorist actions in the West have been Arabs or Pakistanis, yet the victims of the West's military reactions have been Afghans and the Pashtun tribes living in Pakistan.
The majority of Pashtuns have fallen prey to Arab and Pakistani propaganda against the West. The continued insurgency in Afghanistan and the sudden deterioration of the situation in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province make the Pashtun tribes the prime target in the "war against terror".
They have lived in poverty and become the proxy soldiers in the confrontation between the West and the Islamic extremists. The radicalization of young Pashtuns in madrassas (seminaries), generously financed by Saudi Arabia, menaces the cohesion of Pashtun tribal structure.
About 30 million to 35 million Pashtuns live in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, but they are divided and engaged in internal feuds. Only once - and for a short period - have they stood united. This was under the rule of Ahmad Shah Durani (1747-73), who created modern Afghanistan and conquered significant territories in India and Iran. Ever since British rule in India, Pashtun tribes have been in conflict either against foreign intruders or among themselves.
They have deliberately been kept away from modern education and economic development. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, they were tools in the hands of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. And today they are the direct victims of the "war on terror".
In the years of conflict in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and other major Persian Gulf countries have financed thousands of madrassas for Afghan refugees in Pakistan, which resulted in a massive radicalization of young Pashtuns. In addition, the influx of Wahhabi Arab fighters and madrassa teachers transformed the dominant moderate Hanafi school of jurisprudence into a new breed of religious extremism, which resulted in the creation of the Taliban-type movement.
For instance, during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, not a single act of suicide bombing was committed against the Soviet military or their family members in Kabul. The first suicide bombing in Afghanistan was committed by two Arabs against the late Ahmad Shah Massoud, Afghanistan's former defense minister, on September 9, 2001. At least since 2003, young Pashtuns have become involved in suicide bombings, which go against their tribal and religious values.
A new breed of extremist Islamic sect is taking shape in the Pashtun heartland. Only a limited number of the 15 million to 20 million Pashtuns who live in Pakistan enjoy modern education. Sadly, secular and modern schools are being burned down by the Taliban in Afghanistan's Pashtun-dominated provinces. Each year, thousands of young Pashtuns are trained in the madrassas, and only a limited number of them have access to secular education.
Pakistan's military rulers have an interest in keeping the masses of Pashtun people ignorant. They need the support of Pashtuns to dominate other minority groups. Until now the Pakistani authorities have used the old British system of divide-and-rule to play off local Pashtun leaders and in exchange require their loyalty.
This colonial system has kept the masses of Pashtuns illiterate and uneducated, and only selected families have received quality education to fill senior positions in the military. The presence of Pashtuns in the Pakistani military is used to dominate Balochs, who have been struggling to gain their autonomy since the creation of Pakistan in 1947. Without the support of the Pashtun tribes, the Pakistan Army would be unable to control a widespread Baloch insurgency.
President General Pervez Musharraf is keen to keep the truce with Pashtun tribes and save his tacit alliance with extremist religious parties. He knows well that the expansion of conflict with Pashtun tribes in Pakistan not only forces them to unite against Pakistani authorities, but also could incite Balochs to side with the Pashtuns.
Pakistani military authorities want to keep the status quo in the tribal regions. They are more interested in the integrity of their territory than in the global fight on terror. Musharraf has always sought the cooperation of radical religious leaders instead of the main secular leaders because only the religious leaders are capable of reaching out to the radicalized Pashtuns tribes.
Pakistan's military interests are in the interests neither of the West nor of Pashtuns. Keeping Pashtun tribes divided and backward might serve the short-term militaristic interests of Pakistan. But it is already backfiring against the long-term interests of the West.
The Pashtun-dominated territories have become a de facto sanctuary for international terrorism. North Atlantic Treaty Organization and US forces are fighting and bombing those who have nothing to do with terrorist acts in the West. Al-Qaeda and other international terrorists are taking advantage of the religiously devoted and fiercely independent Pashtun tribes.
Indeed, extremist religious groups and local Taliban have become an alibi for Musharraf to continue his military rule in Pakistan, despite the contempt shown by the overwhelming majority of Pakistanis. Pakistan's military authorities have been able to persuade the West to accept their ill-conceived tribal policies of promoting radical extremist leaders to the detriment of more traditional moderate Pashtun leaders.
The West, instead of alienating and pushing Pashtun tribes further into the camp of extremists, could reach out and assist moderate Pashtun leaders. But young Pashtuns have undergone almost three decades of radicalization, and it will require much time to reverse the trend.

Haroun Mir was an aide to the late Ahmad Shah Massoud, Afghanistan's former defense minister. He works as a consultant and policy analyst in Kabul.

(Copyright 2007 Haroun Mir.)

Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say.

South Korea balks at hostage hard line

A South Korean Christian woman prays during a service demanding the safe return of South Koreans kidnapped in Afghanistan at a church in Seoul Sunday, July 29, 2007. The family of a South Korean pastor killed in Afghanistan asked Saturday for a delay in the repatriation of his body, saying they want it flown home only when 22 other hostages are released from Taliban captivity. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)


South Korea balks at hostage hard line

By Donald Kirk

WASHINGTON - The crisis of the Korean hostages captured by Taliban forces in Afghanistan hits South Korean leaders where they are most vulnerable.
Seoul might have preferred not to have sent troops to either Afghanistan or Iraq, but did so under US pressure. As long as the United States is keeping 29,000 troops in South Korea, on guard against a perpetual threat from the North, the Americans believed their Korean friends could show their gratitude by joining the grand alliance in the Middle East.
Now President Roh Moo-hyun, the left-of-center leader whose policy of rapprochement with North Korea has won only reluctant US support, is caught between the need to show firm resolve against a terrorist threat and the desire to appease the Taliban, who have already killed one of the hostages and are holding 22 others.
On Wednesday, the bullet-riddled body of 42-year-old pastor Bae Hyung-kyu was found in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni province, where the South Koreans were abducted on July 19.
The quickest way to deal with the Taliban would be to arrange an enormous payoff and speed up the withdrawal of South Korea's 200 troops - medics and engineers - from Afghanistan. That solution would be fine by the same South Korean leftists who oppose the dispatch of Koreans to the Middle East and who have been calling for US troops to get out of their country. But it is politically impossible.
While conservatives have been steadily gaining strength in South Korea over the past two or three years, Roh has to come across as a man of firmness in the face of the enemy. That position is all the more necessary considering that the hostages are all members of a Christian congregation that had gone to Afghanistan on a do-good "volunteer" mission.
The prayers of the Christians, many of them deeply conservative and quite hostile toward the present government, are echoed by statements from the Blue House, the center of presidential power, decrying the killing of Bae and warning of unstated consequences for those "held responsible".
Suddenly, the South Korean government finds itself attempting to negotiate with an enemy far different from the North Koreans. The bottom line, though, is the same - the Taliban hold hostages and warn against killing them, while North Korea, in the conservative view, holds the South hostage while holding out the threat of a nuclear war.
Through it all, the anti-Roh media keep up a litany of complaints over how the government is dealing with the hostage-takers. Most recently, the government came under fire for the "botched" deal to release eight of the 22. Apparently the hostage-takers called off the release after spying armored vehicles arriving at the scene of the handover. The fear was that the same vehicles could take off in hot pursuit of the Taliban.
South Koreans find it easy to dismiss the nuclear standoff as a matter of secondary importance, remembered when the North fires off a few missiles or tests a nuclear warhead, but the hostage crisis is something else.
The possibility of imminent death of a delegation that consists mostly of rather young women dispensing medical aid is more personal and compelling than the diplomatic maneuvering that led to the signing of an agreement for North Korea to get rid of its nukes and shut down its single, worn-out 5-megawatt reactor.
If the Korean War goes down in US history as "the forgotten war", so the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is sublimated if not forgotten while South Koreans focus on a rising stock market - and televised images of the hostages as they gathered with smiles of optimism before their bus was hijacked last week.
The hostage issue is laden with implications for the US-Korea alliance. Admiral Timothy Keating, chief of the US Central Command, responsible for the whole Asian region, did not help much by saying his forces would be "quick to respond" to a request for help from South Korea. Exactly what could Americans do that they aren't already doing to find the hostages?
For US President George W Bush, though, a show of willingness to help is the only option for an unpopular administration that would prefer to forget Korea while focusing on Iraq.
The US administration over the past five years has climbed down from the seemingly tough policy of the early years when Bush, in his State of the Union address of January 2002, included North Korea in an "axis of evil" along with Iran and Iraq. That remark - and other aspersions that he cast on North Korean leader Kim Jong-il - provoked an outcry in South Korea.
The US and South Korean governments appeared on a collision course in which astute diplomacy was needed on both sides to bridge differences between a government in the United States that wanted to prove its toughness and one in South Korea in search of reconciliation and North-South rapprochement. The hostage crisis in Afghanistan raises some of the same familiar issues.
US liberals have clearly driven the neo-conservatives in the White House and elsewhere in the administration into silence and acquiescence. The most talkative hardliner, John Bolton, who browbeat his critics as under secretary of state for arms control and then as ambassador to the United Nations, is now a voice on the sidelines since the Senate refused to approve his UN reappointment. He speaks from his pulpit at a conservative think-tank, denouncing US diplomatic efforts on North Korea, but no one heeds his advice.
Bolton was a victim not just of his own bullying style but also of his incredible failure to perceive the mood in South Korea. This correspondent vividly remembers a couple of his visits to Seoul in which he paraded in front of the media, confident that he had persuaded senior South Korean officials to go along with sanctioning the North in the UN and had overcome differences between Washington and Seoul.
Now the issue is what the US is doing to persuade South Korea to tough it out on the hostages. US military people, of course, see the taking of hostages as a tactic that cries out for defiance.
Similarly, it could be argued that no one should have been intimidated by the North's missile tests and single underground nuclear test. The test-firing of a long-range Taepodong on July 4, 2006, was a failure, as seen in the missile's descent into the waters off the North Korean east coast soon after its launch, and the nuclear test of last October 6 was so small as to raise suspicions that it too had been a failure.
The sad truth, moreover, is that North Korea still holds the club of nukes and missiles over the heads of negotiators, despite the shutdown of the reactor at Yongbyon, and is still capable of spinning out counterfeit US$100 bills - and currencies of other countries - on its press in Pyongyang.
The reason the US has not addressed these problems definitively is that Bush could not risk a two-theater war - a conflict on the Korean Peninsula at the same time as that in Iraq. The liberal moderates have won out, and the diplomatic drive to bring North Korea to its senses goes on with full approval of Bush, though probably not that of Vice President Dick Cheney, the hardest hardliner.
Negotiations with the extremist Taliban are considerably more difficult, if only because no one knows quite who they are and with whom to talk. Like Bush, Roh cannot risk confrontation with an enemy on two fronts - with North Korea on the Korean Peninsula and with the Taliban in Afghanistan. If he appears weak on North Korea, however, he may still want to show resolve in Afghanistan and leave a legacy of toughness against an enemy - not the North, but an enemy nonetheless.

Journalist Donald Kirk has been covering Korea - and the confrontation of forces in Northeast Asia - for more than 30 years.
(Copyright 2007 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

Militants Flourish New al-Qaida Haven

Militants Flourish New al-Qaida Haven
By MATTHEW PENNINGTON 07.29.07, 1:01 PM ET
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -

The jagged mountains of Pakistan's tribal belt conceal the passage of Taliban fighters into Afghanistan. Its mud fortresses are perfect for training suicide bombers. And al-Qaida kingpins likely find refuge among its Pashtun inhabitants.
With U.S. intelligence agencies warning that al-Qaida is regrouping at Pakistan's frontier, and Taliban militants launching suicide attacks almost daily, this key ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism is under growing pressure to crack down on militancy.
More than 300 people died nationwide after Pakistan's army stormed a pro-Taliban mosque in its capital on July 10, triggering reprisal attacks by extremists. The latest suicide bombing killed 13 people near the Red Mosque in Islamabad on Friday.
But it is the situation in the wild border region, particularly Waziristan, that is most worrying to the United States. It fears al-Qaida, whose capabilities have been eroded at the Afghan frontier during five years of the war on terror, could now mount another attack on America.
While still supporting embattled President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and stressing the need to cooperate with Pakistan, U.S. officials are now suggesting its military could strike inside Pakistan - although analysts say it risks destabilizing Pakistan and breeding more militancy.
"No question that we will use any instrument at our disposal" to deal with al-Qaida and its leader, Osama bin Laden, Frances Fragos Townsend, U.S. homeland security adviser, said last weekend.
Adding to the pressure on Pakistan, legislation that Congress passed Friday would tie aid from the United States to Islamabad's efforts to stop al-Qaida and the Taliban from operating in its territory. It cannot take effect without the signature of President Bush.
Many here view the airing of the possibility of a U.S. unilateral strike also as a tactic to pressure Pakistan to take tougher action. But the threat has drawn a stinging response from a Pakistani government fiercely protective of its national sovereignty.
The Pakistani Foreign Office has warned that a U.S. military strike would violate international law and be deeply resented.
"Such action ... will be irresponsible and dangerous," said spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam. Musharraf denies al-Qaida is regrouping.
A U.S. National Intelligence Assessment this month said a September 2006 peace deal with Taliban militants in North Waziristan that saw the Pakistan army lift checkpoints and left tribesmen to police the lawless area had failed - allowing al-Qaida more freedom to operate.
A Pakistani security official identified key al-Qaida leaders in the tribal regions as Khalid Habib, believed to be the group's chief of military operations at the Pakistan-Afghan border, and Abu Laith al-Libi, whom the U.S. military has named as the likely mastermind of a suicide bombing that killed 23 people outside the main U.S. base in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney in February.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to comment to journalists, said al-Libi is believed to move between North Waziristan and Afghanistan, and is in close contact with a prominent Taliban leader, Jalaluddin Haqqani - underlining al-Qaida ties with the Taliban, which can draw on thousands of local supporters.
Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna said al-Qaida's top leadership is using Pakistan's tribal regions as the hub of their global operations, led by bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri. While al-Qaida, with ties to about 30 groups worldwide, has decentralized its training, Gunaratna said operatives from North Africa, the Middle East and Europe have traveled to the tribal regions for consultation with al-Qaida leaders and specialist preparation for major attacks.
Gunaratna said Shezhad Tanweer and Mohammed Sidique Khan, two of the perpetrators of suicide bombings that killed 52 people in London in July 2005, were schooled by al-Qaida in the use of two explosives during a visit to the tribal region of Malakand.
But analysts say U.S. airstrikes or raids from Afghanistan into Pakistan to counter the perceived threat to America would seriously undermine Musharraf. The general is already under acute political pressure at home from pro-democracy forces and opponents of his alliance with Washington.
And given the vast, hostile terrain and the suspicion of its warrior-minded tribesmen against uninvited outsiders, American forces would have no guarantee of military success.
"If the Americans are able to take out al-Zawahri or Osama bin Laden, I don't think any tears would be shed in the government or among enlightened elements of Pakistani society," said Rasul Baksh Rais, a political scientist at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
"But if they keep missing the target as they have in Afghanistan and in Pakistan a couple of times, it will cause collateral damage and further enrage Pakistani people against the United States," he said. "The entire country would be destabilized and there would be a greater flow of arms and militants into Afghanistan to fight against the U.S. forces there."
U.S. military intervention could also strengthen the hand of Islamist parties ahead of general elections due by early 2008. And sustained bombing - such as the offensive that drove al-Qaida from Afghanistan in late 2001 - would almost certainly topple Musharraf's government.
Pakistan's Senate Foreign Relations Committee - led by the president of the ruling party - issued a statement Saturday that in case "of any unilateral, unprovoked US/NATO military action across the border" Pakistan should end its cooperation in the campaign against terrorism.
The U.S. will more likely continue to pressure Pakistan to intervene. But Pakistan complains that the U.S. has given it no firm intelligence to back up assertions that, for instance, bin Laden is sheltering in the tribal belt. And it's virtually impossible to prove whether terror leaders could do much more than give a "blessing" for attacks further afield.
Experts say Pakistan's best option for bringing Waziristan under some semblance of control is to curry favor among tribesmen to marginalize militants, then strike hard when needed using its own troops. But that too risks a violent backlash.
Thousands of Taliban fighters are based in the region, and residents say that for the first time, fractious groups of militants in both North and South Waziristan appear prepared to fight together if Pakistan's army launches a major operation.
Mahmood Shah, former security chief for Pakistan's tribal regions, also estimates that about 2,000 foreign militants -- mostly hardened Uzbek, Chechen and Tajik fighters, along with a sprinkling of Arab financiers and organizers -- shelter in North Waziristan, particularly in four villages south of the town of Mir Ali, and in territory west of Datta Khel. Others stay in South Waziristan.
In 2004, the army deployed thousands of troops to destroy al-Qaida camps and put militants to flight in South Waziristan. But civilian casualties provoked bitter resistance from heavily armed local tribes, culminating in clashes with pro-Taliban fighters in North Waziristan that killed more than 500 people during the first half of 2006.
The September peace deal was designed to cap the bloodshed. But after an initial calm, it spawned a wave of militancy in neighboring areas of northwestern Pakistan once under firm state control, with attacks on police, schools and 'un-Islamic' music and movie stores.
Afrasiab Khattak, a leader of the opposition Awami National Party, said a new "jihadi gentry" had become dominant in Waziristan. Even before the deal, targeted killings of more than 120 pro-government tribal leaders had shaken traditional power structures and put power in the hands of religious extremists.
Some locals welcome that transition.
"The Taliban have more credibility among local people than corrupt maliks (tribal elders)," Mufti Mehmood Hassan, who runs a madrassa or religious school in Mir Ali, said. "They virtually eliminated robberies and other criminal activities."
The Pakistani government is still hoping to resurrect the peace accord, believing it is the best long-term option.
"If the government consults with genuine religious leaders and ensures the honor, life and property of tribesmen, they'll be no objection to (military) operations. But if the government wants bloodshed and puts the lives of tribesmen in danger there will be the worst kind of reaction from the people," Hassan warned.
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Associated Press writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar and Munir Ahmad in Islamabad contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Pak sets up another check post in Waziristan

Pak sets up another check post in Waziristan
From our ANI Correspondent

Peshawar, July 29: Pakistan has set up a military check post manned by 50 paramilitary soldiers as a prelude to a military operation against militants in North Waziristan.
The new check post southwest of Miranshah, capital of North Waziristan, is the fourth to be set up in the last two days.
Officials said the build-up of security forces around North Waziristan's regional headquarters has been unprecedented, and all sort of traffic to and from Miranshah has been disallowed.
"We are taking all measures to enforce security before we launch any operation," the Daily Times quoted a security official as saying.
Miranshah bazaar, the paper quoted local residents and shopkeepers, as saying, was unguarded at night because both tribal police and militants had not seen for the last few days.
Tribal elders said all eyes were on talks between the tribal militants and government through an all-tribes jirga to rescue the September 5, 2006 armistice.
The talks hit a snag on the return of security forces to the check posts as both the government and militants refused to budge an inch from their stated positions.
Meanwhile, militants attacked two check posts outside Miranshah and prompted retaliation from security forces.
According to officials, Gharlami check post, some 40 kilometres west of Miranshah, came under rockets attack late on Friday, leaving a soldier injured. He was evacuated by a helicopter for medical treatment. Isha check post, 15 kilometres east of Miranshah, also came under attack from militants. Security forces had fired artillery from the military base in Miranshah to pound militants' positions.
Copyright Dailyindia.com/ANI

Balochistan CM's media adviser shot dead

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousaf


Balochistan CM's media adviser shot dead

Peshawar, July 28 : Abdur Raziq Bugti, spokesman of the Balochistan Government and media consultant to Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousaf, was gunned down in broad daylight by unknown armed men on Friday.
Baloch Liberation Army struggling for Baloch cause has owned up the murder.
According to eyewitnesses, two persons riding a motorcycle approached his vehicle and opened indiscriminate fire.
They also told the police that when Raziq Bugti was shot at, his vehicle went out of control, hit the footpath and stopped, and added that the attackers again fired bullets killing him instantly.
The capital city police officer said that Raziq Bugti was on his way home when two armed motorcyclists ambushed and killed him.
After the incident, senior police and intelligence agencies officials rushed to the scene and started collecting evidence, The Nation reported.
Raziq Bugti was born in 1953 and belonged to Masoori faction of Bugti tribe.
Raziq Bugti, 54, started his political carrier from the platform of Baloch Student Organisation (BSO) in 1968.
He fought guerrilla war during 1973 insurgency in Balochistan, and lived for many years in Afghanistan and Russia.
--- ANI


Balochistan CM admits security lapses in province

* Says railway authorities made poor security arrangements to foil saboteurs
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousaf on Monday admitted that security lapses had led to terrorist attacks throughout the province.
Jam Yousaf told journalists after the meeting of the parliamentary committee on Balochistan that the Railways authorities had made poor security arrangements to check the miscreants.
He said the Railways security must be more vigilant to identify any suspected individual. There have been several terrorist attacks on the infrastructure of Pakistan Railways in Balochistan recently, he added.
The chief minister said some Baloch tribesmen in Dadar and Bolan districts were involved in terrorist activities. He urged the federal government to complete and implement the report of the Balochistan committee as soon as possible. Any delay in the implementation of the report would be harmful, he added.
Jam Yousaf asked the federal government to resolve the National Finance Commission Award issue keeping backwardness and poverty of the provinces as decisive factors.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, chairman of the subcommittee on Balochistan, said the Balochistan committee had unanimously approved the 31-point report of the sub-committee. He said the committee members belonging to both treasury and opposition benches had equally contributed in preparing and passing the recommendations.
Senator Ishaq Dar of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz said the opposition sincerely wanted to implement the report of the Balochistan committee to resolve the situation in the province.

Taliban Orders Girls Into Veils in Border Areas

Taliban Orders Girls Into Veils in Border Areas
By Ashfaq Yusufzai

Credit:US Defence Dept/Navy Pfc Eric S. Powell

PESHAWAR, Jul 27 (IPS) - Threatening letters sent by pro-Taliban rebels in a border area of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan warning girls to wear a veil or keep away from school have had the desired results.
All students at the Government Girls Higher School in Par Hoti, Mardan district, are wearing burqas (an outer garment that covers the entire body, from head to toe) after the school administration was advised that the pupils should be veiled in accordance with the Islamic code.
"Frightened students have started wearing burqas" following a verbal order issued by the principal, confirmed Safia, a student in the seventh grade. "It is a new experience, a new thing for the students who are not used to it," she told IPS.
"As parents we do not want our children to be attacked," said Jamil Khan from Mardan whose two daughters are now wearing burqas to school.
The growing Talibanisation of the porous border areas has meant that girls' education has been under attack as it was under the Taliban regime in neighbouring Afghanistan when women's education was deemed un-Islamic and women banned from even being seen in public without male escorts.
Pro-Taliban militant groups have used varied means to sabotage women's education. Apart from the letters sent to schools, warnings have been issued over FM radio by a radical cleric, Maulana Fazlullah.
"Seeking education by women is against the Shariat and the best institute of learning for women is their home," thundered the 38-year-old cleric in his last radio sermon before he went into hiding on Jul. 5.
Fazlullah's rabid speeches, mostly against the West, and recently against the anti-polio campaign have derailed the programme in the border areas. Coverage has only been 96 percent despite a vast door-to-door operation involving 60,000 fieldworkers. Pakistan is among four countries, including Afghanistan, India and Nigeria, where the polio virus has not been eradicated.
The cleric is the son-in-law of the influential Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariah Mohammadi's chief Maulana Sufi Mohammad. His brother Fazal Ahmad was killed in an air strike on a seminary in Bajaur Agency, FATA, on Oct. 30, 2006, which left a total of 80 people dead. While the Pakistani air force claimed responsibility for the attack on the religious school that was being used as a training camp by militants, there were unconfirmed reports that the missiles were U.S. or NATO from across the border in Afghanistan.
Immensely popular with women particularly, the cleric's sermons and lectures have a huge listenership. Most families in Imam Dehri and adjoining villages have stopped sending their daughters to school after listening to his preaching.
Fatima, a teacher at a school in Swat, is extremely worried about the situation. "This is terrible!" she said, greatly distressed. "This trend of discouraging girls from education would hammer the last nail in the development of women," she told IPS by phone.
According to her, the primary school where she taught had about 200 students two months ago. Their numbers had dwindled to 80 since. An estimated 8,000 schoolgirls have dropped out over the past two months in the neighbouring villages of Imam Deri, Koza Banda, Bara Banda, Kabal and Char Bagh.
Female literacy rate in Pakistan is an abysmal 32 percent. It is 30 percent in the NWFP and only three percent in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which is administered directly by Islamabad. According to official reports, female enrollment in schools in the NWFP is 3.8 percent and 1.3 percent in FATA.
Pro-Taliban militants are active even in Peshawar, the capital of the NWFP, where anonymous callers have threatened the well known Khyber Medical College authorities of violence on the campus if within three weeks all women students are not wearing burqas.
"We have received several telephone calls, asking us to strictly enforce the burqa, and also, segregate the classroom into all-male and all-female students," KMC principal Prof. Fazal Ahmad told IPS.
The callers say women students should take a transfer to the Khyber Girls Medical College in Hayatabad Township to complete their medical training in a male free campus.
An official at the province's biggest University of Peshawar has been receiving similar threats for many months now. The university has about 5,000 female students. Rehmat Kalam, a lecturer, told IPS that about a fifth are covered in the burqa.
NWFP Education Minister Maulana Fazal Ali, who belongs to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, an alliance of religious parties that supports the Taliban, is defensive. "We are trying our best to promote female education. For two years, we have been providing free textbooks and uniforms to girls in schools. It shows our interest in women's education," he declared.
He told IPS that the government has ordered the law enforcement agencies to provide security to girls' school throughout the province. (END/2007)

‘18 percent minorities’ voters not registered’

‘18 percent minorities’ voters not registered’

PESHAWAR: The names of about 18 percent eligible voters belonging to minorities are missing in the computerised electoral lists in NWFP, said All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) NWFP President Prince Javed on Thursday.
“Registration teams skipped minorities’ villages and the registration procedure was so complicated that most women from the minorities refused to appear in courts for the enlistment of their names,” Prince Javed told Daily Times.
He said the complicated procedure for new entry in the computerised voter lists by the Election Commission of Pakistan has forced women of NWFP and FATA out of the voters’ registration process, as they preferred to veil, ignoring the registration process in which magistrates had to confirm voters’ nationality.
“Most family members and women have refused to take new registration forms from the display centres after getting to know that they, along with two witnesses for confirmation of their identity and nationality, would have to appear before a judge,” he added. The APMA leader said he would challenge the minorities’ case at the Supreme Court to protect the minorities’ right of participating in the elections. He also demanded the government conduct the coming elections on the basis of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) registration lists in order to prevent any pre-election rigging efforts by the government. staff report

‘Kill looters disguised as Taliban,’ Taliban tell Miranshah tribes

Friday, July 27, 2007

‘Kill looters disguised as Taliban,’ Taliban tell Miranshah tribes

Staff Report
dailytimes.com.pk
MIRANSHAH: Taliban leaders told local residents on Thursday to “shoot on sight anyone looting public property disguised as Taliban,” as the presence of government security forces in the main town of North Waziristan vanished completely, locals said.
Police in the tribal region recently stopped performing their duty in the face of threats from Taliban militants. This occurred after tension with the government intensified over the build-up of army personnel at security check-posts in the area.
Any looters disguised as Taliban “must be shot at and killed immediately to restore peace,” members of the Taliban ‘shura’ announced on loudspeakers from the three main mosques in Miranshah, residents reported.
The announcement indicates that the Taliban leadership realises that their public image is at risk as the local population also holds them responsible for the present crisis in Waziristan. “Miranshah is at the mercy of people holding guns who do what they want, looting public property,” a fruit vendor, Shaukat, told Daily Times.
Neither police nor Taliban militants have been prominent in Miranshah for the last few days. A local doctor described the situation as reflecting “absolute anarchy and chaos”.
A member of an all-tribes jirga in Peshawar welcomed the announcement, hoping it would send a goodwill message to the government that the Taliban would ensure peace, which the NWFP governor had said was a pre-requisite to removing military check-posts.

No foreign militants, training centres in Waziristan: local cleric

No foreign militants, training centres in Waziristan: local cleric

Staff Report

PESHAWAR: A prayer leader from Miranshah has said there are no foreign militants or militant training centres in the Waziristan Agency, adding that if US or NATO forces attack the area, tribal people would wage a jihad against them.
“Waziristan tribesmen will launch attacks on the US-led allied forces in Afghanistan if the US attacks the Waziristan Agency,” stated Maulana Muhammad Yaseen Naumani in a statement issued here on Friday.
The prayer leader at Gul Pakhel Jamia Masjid in Miranshah said the US was targeting Muslims around the world merely on the basis of their religion. “We are regretful — not for the US — but for the Muslims who support their attacks on Muslims,” he said. He said the Pakistan army should stop attacking citizens on US directives, warning that otherwise Pakistani soldiers would also face aggression. He appealed to the leaders of opposition political parties to play their role in preventing any war in the region “otherwise the fire in Waziristan will engulf the entire country”.”.
“We also appeal to the government to remove army check posts from the agency and send the military back to its barracks. It will be better for government, army and Waziristan residents to jointly resolve law and order issues and foreign threats to the agency through dialogue,” the local cleric said. He demanded the government end the “meaningless battle” that, he said, was only serving the US and anti-Pakistan elements’ interests.

UN closes oldest Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan

UN closes oldest Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan

Jul 27, 2007, 16:15 GMT
New York - Kacha Garhi, the oldest and one of the largest Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan, has been closed three decades after it was established for Afghans fleeing the Soviet occupation of their country, the United Nations refugee agency said Friday.
Nearly 64,000 Afghan refugees, many of whom were born and grew up in the camp, had lived there before the government decided to close Kacha Garhi this week. Each camp resident was given 100 dollars and was free to return to Afghanistan or relocate to another camp.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the three remaining large camps, Jalozai, Old Shamshatoo and Panian, will also be closed. Those camps are located in Hayatabad, in Pakistan's northwest frontier province.
The UN said Pakistani authorities will use the land from those camps for urban development.
The then Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan for a decade in the 1980s, sending more than 5 million Afghans refugees into neighbouring countries, with the bulk of them landing in Pakistan. Many have repatriated in recent years.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur


Kacha Garhi refugee camp closes in Pakistan after 27 years

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, July 27 (UNHCR) – One of the oldest and largest Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan has closed, with the last residents leaving for Afghanistan. The closure comes after two years of negotiations, and sets the tone for future camp closures.
Set up in 1980, Kacha Garhi camp was located in the heart of Hayatabad, part of Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. More than 64,000 Afghans were registered in a recent government exercise in the camp, making it the fourth-largest camp countrywide – after Jalozai, Old Shamshatoo and Panian camps in NWFP.
The decision to close Kacha Garhi camp was taken in 2006. It was one of four camps the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan and UNHCR agreed to close, mainly for security reasons. But in Kacha Garhi's case, the authorities wanted to free up prime land for urban development.
As with the other three camps, the residents of Kacha Garhi were given two options: to voluntarily repatriate with UNHCR assistance averaging US$100 per person, or to relocate to an existing camp in Pakistan for those who do not wish to repatriate.
UNHCR's long-standing position is that repatriation must be truely voluntary and gradual. The free and informed decision of Afghans to return is the single most important contributing factor to their successful reintegration in Afghanistan.
By the time Kacha Garhi was closed on 26 July, some 37,000 registered Afghans had been assisted back to Afghanistan by UNHCR. Some 96 percent of Kacha Garhi's residents hail from Afghanistan's eastern and central provinces of Nangarhar, Laghman, Kabul and Logar.
No one opted for relocation to government-designated camps in Dir and Chitral in northern NWFP. Repatriating Afghans cited the remote location of the alternative camps, their lack of basic infrastructure and the limited possibilities for livelihoods as reasons for their decisions.
"I spent a major part of my life in Kacha Garhi, I married here and now I am the father of seven children," said Abdul Malik, 36, a motor mechanic. "My relatives and I have never been to Dir and Chitral before. I think it is quite difficult to start life from scratch. We prefer to return to our homeland. Even if the camp had not closed, I had decided to repatriate. After all, for how long can we live like refugees? When a person leaves his home, he has to go back one day."
Not everyone shared his view, which explains why it took two years to negotiate the camp closure. Located near Peshawar's major markets and industries, Kacha Garhi was a hub of trading and transport services. Local news reports put the market value of refugees' assets in the camp at the equivalent of about 740 million Pakistani Rupees (over US$12 million). Businessmen refused to leave, and reportedly sent delegations to lobby in Kabul.
However, it soon became clear the government was serious about closing the camp this year. Shuras were held with refugee elders to inform them about their options, and agreement was finally reached on a peaceful resolution to camp closure.
"The peaceful closure of Kacha Garhi camp has set a very good example," said Faridullah Jan, the Additional Commissioner of the Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees in NWFP. "The deadline [of June 30] was extended several times to ensure that the refugees took a voluntary decision. We are glad that the camp closed without any unpleasant incident."
What remains of Kacha Garhi today are the mud walls after which the camp is named. Most of the repatriating families had dismantled their houses and taken the wooden beams and doors to rebuild their homes in Afghanistan. Large portions of the deserted camp have been bulldozed by the authorities.
Fatima, a 45-year-old mother of four from Baghlan province, was among the last families to leave the camp. "We did not want to go back but had to dismantle our house as we were the only ones left in our compound and the rest had already repatriated," she said. "We could not go to Dir or Chitral to start a new life as it was not feasible for us. I decided to repatriate because we could not afford to rent a house in Peshawar."
She repatriated with her brother and extended family. "My husband is not returning with us," she explained. "He will settle us in Kabul, then come back to Pakistan as he is working as a fruit seller and earns a good income."
Guenet Guebre-Christos, the UN refugee agency's Representative in Pakistan, welcomed the camp's peaceful closure. "We hope the other camp closures will follow the same approach, that open dialogue will continue," she said.
By Rabia Ali
in Peshawar, Pakistan


Kacha Garhi refugee camp shut down after 27 years

ISLAMABAD, Jul 28 (APP): The government has closed the oldest Afghan refugee camps in Kacha Garhi, NWFP.The decision to close Kacha Garhi camp was taken in 2006 by the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan and UNHCR due to security reasons.
However, the closure comes after two years of negotiations, and sets the tone for future camp closures.
The residents (refugees) of Kacha Garhi were given two options: to voluntarily repatriate with UNHCR assistance averaging US $ 100 per person, or to relocate to an existing camp in Pakistan for those who do not wish to repatriate.
Set up in 1980, Kacha Garhi camp was located in the heart of Hayatabad, Peshawar.
More than 64,000 Afghans were registered in a recent government exercise in the camp, making it the fourth-largest camp countrywide - after Jalozai, Old Shamshatoo and Panian camps in NWFP.
UNHCR’s long-standing position is that repatriation must be truly voluntary and gradual.
The free and informed decision of Afghans to return is the single most important contributing factor to their successful reintegration in Afghanistan.
By the time Kacha Garhi was closed on, some 37,000 registered Afghans had been assisted back to Afghanistan by UNHCR.
Some 96 per cent of Kacha Garhi’s residents hail from Afghanistan’s eastern and central provinces of Nangarhar, Laghman, Kabul and Logar.
“The peaceful closure of Kacha Garhi camp has set a very good example,” said Faridullah Jan, the Additional Commissioner of the Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees in NWFP.
He said the deadline of June 30 was extended several times to ensure that the refugees took a voluntary decision, adding, We are glad that the camp closed without any unpleasant incident.
Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency’s Representative in Pakistan, Guenet Guebre-Christos welcomed the camp’s peaceful closure and hoped that the other camp closures will follow the same approach, that open dialogue will continue.

Al-Qaeda Regroup Poses Dual Threat

Pakistan: Radio Free Afghanistan -- Al-Qaeda Regroup Poses Dual Threat

By Abubakar Siddique
(RFE/RL)
July 27, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- The attempted reopening today in Islamabad of the Red Mosque complex that saw a bloody confrontation between security forces and militant Islamic radicals on July 10-11 is a reminder of the challenges confronting Pakistan's embattled President Pervez Musharraf. The event was descending into rioting as Islamic hard-liners sought to retake the facilities.
Another reminder is taking shape in Washington, where legislators are pressing to tie U.S. aid to Pakistan's success in combating Al-Qaeda. Reuters reported today that U.S. lawmakers are nearing agreement on a bill to would make funds contingent on a crackdown on Al-Qaeda, Taliban, and other militants.
With Pakistan long a source of concern in the U.S.-led counterterrorism effort, there is also new speculation about whether the U.S. military in Afghanistan might be tempted to cross the border into Pakistan to respond to any threat. In the United States, officials have declined to rule out direct strikes against Al-Qaeda targets in Pakistani territory, angering some Pakistanis.
The debate follows three shocks that reverberated in swift succession in Pakistan in the span of less than two weeks in July. First, more than 300 people died in the storming of Islamabad's Red Mosque and subsequent revenge attacks. Then Al-Qaeda's number-two man, Ayman al-Zawahri, urged a holy war against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. And last week, a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate described Al-Qaeda as having regrouped and refortified itself in Pakistan's tribal belt.
Militants 'Much Stronger'
Zahid Hussain is a senior Pakistani journalist and analyst who recently published a book on Islamist militancy since the attacks on the United States in September 2001. He told RFA that the Al-Qaeda network has been operating in Pakistan for a long time and has strengthened itself over the past six years.
"Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are much stronger and they have extended their network largely because of the support they are getting from the outlawed [Pakistani Islamist] militant groups," Hussain said. "In fact, the militants Islamist groups that were outlawed by President Pervez Musharraf in 2002 disintegrated into small cells and now they work as an extension of Al-Qaeda's network in Pakistan. Some of the planning for the attacks on Western countries had emanated from Pakistan. Some arrests have been made. But if you look, actually their capacity to attack has not [been] completely removed."
"Some arrests have been made. But if you look, actually their capacity to attack has not completely [been] removed."
Most observers agree that Musharraf's efforts to confront or contain militants have met with limited success. Critics say they've left Al-Qaeda and Taliban elements in control of large swaths of the borderlands, from which militants can extend their reach in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan.
"North and South Waziristan has really become a safe haven for Al-Qaeda and the Taliban," Hussain said. "The [Pakistani] government had been carrying out an operation for two years (2004-06) before reaching a cease-fire with the militants in North Waziristan in September of last year, but that 10-month truce was always tentative. After the truce there was a marked increase in attacks on the other side of the border, in Afghanistan. So the peace agreement gave Pakistan a period of respite, but it never resolved the problem."
Some Western analysts have argued that President Musharraf is allowing an Al-Qaeda presence in Pakistan in order to prolong his leadership.
Marvin Weinbaum, a Pakistan specialist at Washington's Middle East Institute, suggests the reality might be rather complicated.
"I believe that allowing the threat to be visible has been in Musharraf's interest," Weinbaum said. "However, certainly he could not have wanted it to progress as it has. It's one thing to be able to turn to the U.S. and the international community and say, 'You see, don't push me too hard because you see this is what I'm confronting and these are the elements that are going to succeed if I'm not here.' [But] right now the kind of extremist development that we see in Pakistan really does threaten the [Pakistani] army [and] the state -- and that in no way can be seen as a positive for Musharraf."
Much At Stake
The United States has given Pakistan some $10 billion in assistance since September 2001. The bulk of this has been to reimburse Islamabad for military operations against Al-Qaeda in the border region.
But some analysts warned that U.S. support has strengthened Musharraf's military-led government at the expense of a more democratic political order that might ultimately help curb extremism and militancy among Pakistan's 160 million people.
Peter Bergen is a terrorism analyst and author of a biography of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Ladin. He said he thinks President George W. Bush's administration should take a hard look at its counterterrorism cooperation with Islamabad.
"I think the United States needs to be a little more firm about the need for the return to civilian rule," Bergen said. "President Bush has been pretty silent on that. Other people in his administration keep supporting Musharraf, but the larger question is bigger than just one person. The return to civilian rule is important for Pakistan's long-term viability as a successful state. There are other things that the United States and Pakistan have been talking about: One is putting more reconstruction money into the tribal regions, and I think that makes a lot of sense if the money is spent in the right way."
Bergen argued that the United States should continue small-scale CIA operations inside Pakistan to hunt Al-Qaeda leaders. But he said Pakistan needs to crackdown on Taliban militants on its territory.
A 'More Serious' Effort?
"The Pakistani government also should try and go after the Taliban leadership in Quetta and Peshawar in a more serious manner," Bergen said. "And that's not something that's just in Afghanistan's interest -- that's also in the U.S. military's interest in Afghanistan and [the interest of] all the NATO countries that are participating there."
Weinbaum, however, suggested that Pakistani forces face daunting challenges in their efforts to battle Al-Qaeda. He noted that the army has already suffered significant losses in Pakistan's rugged northwestern border region, abutting the Afghan border. Violence there has resulted in more than 300 deaths in July -- roughly half of them government soldiers.
"I think it's very doubtful that the military has the capacity to deal with the threat, as [militancy] has now rooted itself in the tribal areas," Weinbaum said. "After the Red Mosque affair, there is probably more public support for more aggressive policy. But what has not changed is that the military lacks the capacity and the ability to confront groups that have taken root there. It is not capable of counterinsurgency; it doesn't have the training, the equipment, and, yes, even the motivation to really challenge that [insurgency] and be successful."
Weinbaum speculated that Musharraf's priority -- given the current state of affairs in Pakistan -- might be to contain the Al-Qaeda threat while not eliminating it altogether.
"About the best that they can do is to contain this," Weinbaum said. "A political development in Pakistan [in which] the [political] parties and Musharraf would together see a mandate to do this, I think he would be more impelled to act. But I think right now the best we can see is some response to some of the attacks. But a full-scale approach that tries to eliminate the threat that exists in the frontier [region] would incur enormous risks -- the military knows this, and they don't want to be humiliated again as they were for 2 1/2 years."
Bergen maintained that Al-Qaeda will continue operating out of Pakistan in the absence of sufficient political will and popular backing to launch large-scale attacks against its bases there.
But he also suggested that Western determination to liquidate the militant threat emanating from Pakistan could prove a tipping point if it is found to be a launching pad for a new terrorist attack.
"If there is another attack in Britain or another attack in the United States that's traceable to the tribal regions in Pakistan, then of course there would be a lot of political pressure to do something in a larger manner than has been done in the past."

(Abubakar Siddique is a correspondent for RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan)


Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2007 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Power crisis due to 40 % rise in demand

Power crisis due to 40 % rise in demand

PESHAWAR: Forty per cent rise in demand of electricity throughout the country has been recorded which is causing the power crisis.
Federal minister for political affairs and in charge of the power-generation projects in NWFP, Ameer Muqam told this to Geo News.
He said that a 40 per cent rise in demand of electricity has unexpectedly been recorded this year whereas the supply was decreased and a power crisis is being seen all over the country.
Ameer Muqam said that there is a shortage of 400 mw electricity in NWFP only.
He said that to overcome the shortage of electricity, various new power projects are being launched due to which WAPDA will get additional electricity.
Courtesy Geo

Qazi Hussain's resignation brings MMA at crossroads

Qazi Hussain Ahmad


Qazi Hussain's resignation brings MMA at crossroads
From our ANI Correspondent

Islamabad, July 26: Jama'at-e Islami and Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) of the Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) are at the loggerheads following the resignation of Qazi Hussain Ahmad from the Pakistan National Assembly.
According to a Daily Times editorial, Qazi's Jama'at-e Islami wants to take the Musharraf Government head-on and protest against it on the streets, while Maulana Fazlur Rehman's JUI does not want to fight with the government, as they want to secure their party's vote bank in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and tribal areas.
"Ahmad's resignation has come at an awkward time for Maulana Fazlur Rehman who is deeply involved in the politics unfolding in the federally administered tribal areas (FATA)," the editorial said.
"As North Waziristan declared its refusal to adhere to the 'deal' made by the local Taliban with Islamabad - with not a little help from the JUI - the Maulana was under pressure to stop another war front from being opened," it added.
Rehman has to run a government in Peshawar where his party is the mainstay of political power.
"He knows that his vulnerability vis-…-vis the federal government lies in the incumbency of his party. There are gains to be made during this period in power, not least a popular acceptance of its extremely radicalised support hinterland in FATA," the report said.
It further said that Rahman's moderation in Islamabad will help him in concealing the nature of insurgency in FATA.
However, Ahmad thinks that having direct confrontation with the Musharraf regime would yield benefits.
"He (Ahmad) may believe that as the crisis in FATA unfurls, and links with al Qaeda are discovered in the coming days to fracture an all-parties opposition consensus against Musharraf, he might strike while the iron is hot," the editorial said.

Copyright Dailyindia.com/ANI

Bomb near police van wounds 9 people in northwestern Pakistan, police say

Bomb near police van wounds 9 people in northwestern Pakistan, police say


2007-07-26 13:47:34 -

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - A bomb exploded near a police van in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, wounding nine people in the latest violence against security forces in the region.
Elsewhere in the tribal belt along the border with Afghanistan, security forces traded gunfire with militants at checkpoints near the scene of recent violence, officials said.
In North West Frontier Province, a police van carrying prisoners and officers back from a court hearing was hit by a bomb blast near the town of Timergara, police officer Shahjehan Khan said.
Six prisoners and three officers were wounded, Khan said.
He said police were investigating the explosion, and refused to speculate on who may have been responsible.
In North Waziristan, security forces at checkpoints near the main town of Miran Shah opened fire on suspected militants on Thursday, officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. There were no reports of injuries.
Taliban militants have been expanding their influence from strongholds in the tribal belt, and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is under growing pressure from his key international backer, the United States, to crack down.
Since a bloody army siege of Islamabad's radical Red Mosque earlier this month, Pakistan has sent thousands of troops to the northwest, triggering a fierce militant response. More than 300 people who have died in violence across the country this month.
Militants have killed dozens of soldiers with suicide attacks in North Waziristan.
In North West Frontier Province, two suicide bombers and a roadside bomb simultaneously struck a military convoy earlier this month, killing 11 soldiers and three civilians.
Small-scale roadside bombs have also hit police in recent days, without causing serious casualties.

Afghan writer imprisoned in Peshawar Jail

AG submits report to PHC: Afghan writer imprisoned at Peshawar Jail

* Court says detainee to face charges in court
* Petitioner plans to file another petition to get his brother released

PESHAWAR: NWFP Advocate General (AG) Pir Liaquat Khan submitted a report before the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday and confirmed Afghan writer Abdur Rahim Muslim Dost’s detention at the Peshawar Central Prison, saying the Khyber Agency political authorities charged him under the 14 Foreigners Act and 40 Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR).
A PHC division bench comprising of Chief Justice Tariq Pervaiz Khan and Justice Syed Maroof Khan avoided hearing arguments of the petitioner’s lawyer about who had picked him up. “We don’t go by the details on who arrested the Afghan writer and where he was kept. He is now in the PHC jurisdiction and would be treated in accordance with the law,” Justice Khan observed.
The PHC bench disposed of the writ petition after the Afghan writer’s whereabouts were made known to his family. “In the writ petition, the petitioner had sought his brother’s whereabouts. Now the detainee will be produced in court and face charges levelled by the Landi Kotal APA (Agency Political Authority),” the court announced.
The bench observed that Dost might challenge the charges levelled against him by the political authorities through another writ petition in the PHC. After the court’s decision, Muslim Dost’s brother Syed Mohammad told Daily Times that charges levelled by the political administration against Dost were false and that he would challenge it through another writ petition. “We are thankful to the court which recovered my brother from the agencies,” he added. The same PHC bench had directed the NWFP AG on Tuesday to submit a report on Wednesday regarding Dost’s detention under the Khyber Agency administration and later shifted him to the Peshawar Central Prison.
Syed Mohammad said personnel of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) police picked up Dost on September 29, 2006. He said that after detaining Dost for nine months, officials of a federal intelligence agency blindfolded Dost and took him to several police stations, including Nasir Bagh Police Station, to implicate him in a terrorism case. He said after police’s refusal to register a false case against Dost, the agencies handed Dost over to the political authorities. He said the political authorities charged Dost under the 14 Foreigners and 40 FCR, at the request of the agencies. The petitioner’s lawyer contended that the detainee had never been charged with any offence, nor had he been produced before any court, as required by the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1898, “which by itself makes the detention illegal,” he added.
45 year old Dost has co-authored a Pashto book called “Da Guantanamo Matay Zaulanai” (The broken chains of Guantanamo), published in September 2006. He has blamed the Pakistani secret agencies in his book for atrocities and playing into the hands of the US. “My brother was tortured by both the US forces and Pakistani agencies,” the petitioner said, adding that both brothers, through their book, showed the real face of the intelligence agencies and the inhuman treatment meted out to them by the US forces during detention.
He added that agencies’ personnel visited their house few days back and expressed their anger over the book’s publication, which had charged the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) by name. Dost and his younger brother Badruzzaman Badr spent three years in US custody at Bagram Airbase, Kandahar Airport and then at Camp X-Ray in Cuba. He was arrested from Peshawar on November 17, 2001 after the fall of the Taliban government in Afghanistan.
Upon release on September 24, 2004 both brothers published a 500-page book about imprisonment at the Guantanamo Bay and other detention camps as prisoners. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Dost used to edit several magazines published from Peshawar and has authored 37 books on politics, religion and poetry. staff report

200 people killed in suicide bombings in Pakistan since 2002

Lives Less Worthy?
Perhaps the world can come to realise that the real war is between those who believe in the ultimate sanctity and value of a human life and those who do not.
By Rafia Zakaria, July 24, 2007
www.altmuslim.com

According to a report published by the RAND Corporation, victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States have received $38.1 billion dollars in compensation, with insurance agencies and the United States government making more than 90 percent of the payments. The 52 victims of the 7/7 attacks in London have also received a total of over five million British pounds in compensation. Similarly victims of the Madrid bombing in Spain received compensation both from Spanish and EU authorities.
Nearly 200 people have been killed in suicide bombings in Pakistan since 2002 and there is scant evidence that the families of these victims have or will receive anything at all in terms of compensation. The families of the 27 victims of the latest suicide bombings at the Marhaba Hotel in Peshawar are equally unlikely to receive any assistance.
Indeed, marking the disparity between the accolades and commemorations awarded to victims of terror in Western countries begs a question increasingly forgotten by those perpetrating the "war on terror" across the globe: are Pakistani and Muslim victims of terror less innocent and less worthy of mourning than western victims of terror? Are the stories of fathers, brothers, wives, daughters and children that perish on the streets of Karachi or the bazaars of Peshawar somehow less tragic than those of stockbrokers in the World Trade Centre and commuters on the London tube?
These questions are uncomfortable and cumbersome and tragically few in western countries wish to ask them. One reason for this reticence may simply be the inability of the West to acknowledge the reality and tragedy surrounding non-western victims of terror. When a terrorist attack occurs in the western world, immigrant Muslim groups immediately confront an onslaught of scrutiny, with western news media counting the minutes and seconds until condemnations are issued and recriminations posted on Muslim newspapers and websites. At these crucial moments, all Muslims, especially those living in the West, essentially have to disprove the presumption that they are complicit in these horrendous crimes.
Yet when terrorist attacks take place in countries like Pakistan, and the victims are all Pakistanis and Muslims, few non-Muslims in the western world take the trouble to issue condemnations or organise vigils and rallies in support of the innocent victims. At best, a few tersely worded statements are issued by the US State Department that make little pretence at empathy and reek of condescension.
News of suicide attacks in countries like Pakistan is often relegated to one-line dispatches in national news broadcasts across the western hemisphere. The "terrorism experts" that have become a regular feature of Western television news channels do not bother to analyze the dimensions and details of attacks occurring in Peshawar or Karachi. While Pakistan may be incredibly useful as an ally in the war on terror, Pakistanis, who are victims of terror, receive scarce attention and none of the empathy western governments offer to their lost citizens and their families.
Because Iraqis, Afghans and Pakistanis share a religion with the perpetrators of the senseless violence, their deaths are considered less urgent, indicative of an internal problem within Islam that makes the victims, if not as culpable as the perpetrators, then certainly not entirely innocent in the bargain. It is this damning assumption - one that under-girds so many western debates on the ravages of suicide terror and venerates the western victim as more important and more worthy of sympathy - that lies at the crux of the world’s inability to deal with terrorism as a pressing and grotesque disease afflicting the world community.
The culprit is the framing of the war on terror as a conflict between the enlightened West and the progress-averse Muslim world. Reductionist and completely misleading, this construction does incredible disservice to both sides. On one hand it allows the western world to languish in the lie that Muslims only perpetuate terror and are never victimised by it. On the other it allows Muslims to live in the rationalisation that religious extremists are battling only the West and have no qualms or enmities against their fellow Muslims.
The grotesque reality of the deaths in Peshawar is the most recent incident that must lead the world to question the dangerous lies behind both of these assumptions. Seeing religious extremism, and the terrorism it spawns, as a problem that afflicts only one or the other side of the world is to deny the universal human cost being imposed by those for whom human lives, western or non-western, are ultimately meaningless and expendable.
Pakistanis need to realise that when they see horrendous acts of terror such as those carried out on 9/11, they are witnessing not some anti-imperialist victory that is finally bringing an arrogant United States to its knees but rather the unabated death and carnage of thousands of innocent and hapless victims not any different from the scores dying of suicide attacks on the streets of Peshawar and Karachi.
The suicide bomber in Peshawar reportedly had the following message emblazoned on his legs: "This is what happens to American spies". Yet the people he killed were unassuming diners who simply had the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. If anything, the tragedy of their deaths should expose the absurdity of a quest that sought to obliterate innocent civilian lives to avenge ideological hatred.
At the same time, westerners need to descend from the secure bandwagon that paints terrorism as a problem deserving attention only when it claims their lives. In doing so, they need to acknowledge the reality that the tragedies afflicting families who lose members to terrorist attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq are just as afflicted, grief-stricken and worthy of the empathy and compassion as those dying in their own countries.
In acknowledging the humanity and common suffering of all victims of terror, perhaps the world can come to realise that the real war is between those who believe in the ultimate sanctity and value of a human life and those who do not.
Rafia Zakaria is associate editor of altmuslim.com and an attorney and member of the Asian American Network Against Abuse of Women. She teaches courses on constitutional law and political philosophy. This article previously appeared in Daily Times (Pakistan).

Pakistani tribesmen bury 'hero' militant commander

Abdullah Mehsud, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, talks to the media as his bodyguard stand guard near Chagmalai in South Waziristan along the Afghan border in this Oct 14, 2004 file photo. Mehsud, who led pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan after his release, died on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 when he blew himself up with a grenade to avoid arrest. Armed intelligence agents cornered Mehsud and three other men at the house of a leader of an Islamist political party in the southwestern town of Zhob, police officials said. (AP Photo/M. Sajjad/FILE)


Pakistani tribesmen bury 'hero' militant commander

AFP
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 17:43 IST
PESHAWAR: Around 2,000 tribesmen brandishing Kalashnikovs and baying for holy war buried on Wednesday a top Pakistani Taliban militant who blew himself up after being cornered by security forces.
Abdullah Mehsud, a one-legged former Guantanamo Bay detainee wanted for the 2004 kidnap of two Chinese engineers, committed suicide with a hand grenade a day earlier to evade arrest in a town near the Afghan border.
He was laid to rest in his home town in the militant-infested tribal district of South Waziristan, part of the rugged frontier zone where the US alleges that the Al-Qaeda terror network is regrouping.
"Commander Abdullah died a hero's death," local Taliban commander Noor Sayed told the gathering at Nano, 40 kilometres from Wana, the main town in the area, according to officials and witnesses.
"He did not surrender to the forces working for the infidels and preferred to die in an honourable way, setting an example for all mujahedin (holy warriors) to follow him," he added.
Mourners carrying assault rifles and rocket launchers chanted "Allahu akbar (God is greater)" and "Al-jihad, al-jihad!" as the rebel leader's coffin was lowered into the ground.
Pakistan has been in the grip of growing unrest linked to this month's siege and assault of the pro-Taliban Red Mosque in the capital Islamabad which left more than 100 people dead, most of them militants.





Taliban Leader Once Held by U.S. Dies in Pakistan Raid

By Griff Witte
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, July 25, 2007; A01
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 24 -- A top Taliban commander who became one of Pakistan's most wanted men after his release from U.S. detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, died Tuesday as security forces raided his hideout, officials here said.
Abdullah Mehsud had earned a fearsome reputation by orchestrating repeated attacks and kidnappings. Intelligence agencies regarded him as a key figure in an insurgency that has recently been gathering intensity on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Pakistani officials said Mehsud blew himself up with a grenade early Tuesday rather than surrender as security forces closed in on his hideout in Zhob, a town in Baluchistan province about 30 miles from the Afghan border. The town is also near Waziristan, a tribal area where the Pakistani military has been clashing with extremist fighters.
Mehsud is one of seven former Guantanamo detainees publicly identified by U.S. Defense Department officials as having returned to the fight following their release. Defense officials have said that as many as 23 other freed men, whom they have not identified, have taken up arms again. Mehsud was among a small group the officials suspect took an influential role after leaving the facility.
"This is a big blow to the Pakistani Taliban," said Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema, an Interior Ministry spokesman. "He was one of the most important commanders that the Taliban had in Waziristan."
Other security sources, however, said that Mehsud's effectiveness had been limited in recent years because he was being closely pursued by authorities, and that he was mistrusted by rival commanders.
"He was in close contact with Taliban commanders in southern Afghanistan, but strangely he had severed contacts with the leaders of his own tribe in Waziristan," one Pakistani intelligence official said.
Mehsud's death follows a rise in violence in Pakistan and growing U.S. pressure on the president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to produce evidence that he is cracking down on militancy in an area where al-Qaeda is believed to be active.
A controversial cease-fire with tribal militants in North Waziristan collapsed last week, and since then, they have carried out a wave of deadly strikes that have claimed about 180 lives. In recent days, the army has been fighting back, and a military buildup in the region continued Tuesday.
Residents of North Waziristan reported heavy shelling in the area late Tuesday as last-ditch efforts to revive the deal apparently failed. Early Wednesday, eight people died and 35 were injured when rockets, allegedly launched by insurgents, slammed into a civilian area in the northwestern town of Bannu, police said.
Mehsud, who was believed to be about 31, fought alongside the Taliban in the 1990s as it battled the group known as the Northern Alliance for supremacy in Afghanistan.
Mehsud was captured in northern Afghanistan in late 2001, after the U.S. invasion in October that year. Following 25 months in the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, he was released in March 2004, according to the Defense Department. He apparently succeeded in concealing his identity while there. Following his release, the Defense Department said it had determined he had been associated with the Taliban since his teenage years and had been described as an "al-Qaeda-linked facilitator."
After his release, Mehsud reportedly bragged that he had convinced the Americans he was Afghan, not Pakistani.
Almost as soon as he got out, the one-legged fighter -- he lost the other to a land mine -- resumed waging war. In Afghanistan, he helped coordinate operations against U.S.-led forces, and in Pakistan he took on the national army. The baby-faced commander, who was reputed to have ties to al-Qaeda, gave frequent interviews to journalists in the Waziristan area. He was known for riding through the region's rough terrain on camel or horseback.
Pakistani officials put an $84,000 bounty on his head after his followers kidnapped two Chinese engineers in October 2004. One engineer died during a rescue operation; the other survived.
Retired Maj. Ikram Sehgal, now a security analyst, said Mehsud's boldness and his unwillingness to negotiate made him a popular leader among radical fighters. "This is a major development," Sehgal said. "Abdullah Mehsud was a youthful leader who was totally intransigent. So he was someone around whom a lot of people had gathered."
But another former high-ranking officer said those same qualities earned him enemies among fellow Taliban commanders and limited his influence. "He was an educated man. But at the same time he was also very emotional, impatient and unreliable," said retired Brig. Mehmood Shah, who recently left the government after years in jobs focusing on tribal area issues.
Analysts agreed that Mehsud's death would hurt the Taliban in the short term. But the group has a diffuse organizational structure and others are likely to move in quickly to replace him. A commander who outranked Abdullah Mehsud, Baitullah Mehsud, remains at large. The two are members of the same clan.
Pakistan's intelligence agencies used a tip to track Abdullah Mehsud's movements over the past several days, according to Cheema, the Interior Ministry spokesman. Early Tuesday, paramilitary forces surrounded a private residence in Zhob that belonged to a local leader of a hard-line religious party.
Maulan Habibur Rehman, Zhob's mayor, said the security forces cordoned off the area, raided the compound and used tear gas to force the occupants out. Three suspected Taliban members were captured during the operation.
Cheema said the raid had been "a solo operation" for which the United States provided no support.
The Pakistani government has been trying in recent days to distance itself from the United States, as American officials decline to rule out the possibility of carrying out counterterrorism operations on Pakistani soil. Such moves would be deeply unpopular in Pakistan, where anti-Americanism is on the rise.
Staff writer Josh White in Washington and special correspondents Kamran Khan in Karachi, Pakistan, and Imtiaz Ali in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

Jirga Resume Talks with Taliban in N. Waziristan

Jirga Resume Talks with Taliban in N. Waziristan
'Pakistan Times' Wire Service

PESHAWAR: The members of grand tribal Jirga after successful talks with NWFP Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai Tuesday resumed negotiations with local Taliban in North Waziristan tribal region.
The members of 45-men Jirga had concluded talks with Orakzai at Governor House Peshawar, in which they discussed the peace deal and maintenance of peace in the tribal region, two members of Jirga Malik Nasrullah Khan and Maulana Nek Zaman MNA told Geo News.
The members of Jirga didn’t divulge details of talks, however said that they held successful talks with the governor.
The Jirga members have resumed talks with ulema and local Taliban from Utamnzai tribe in North Waziristan.
They said that their efforts would be continued till revival of the peace deal.
An earlier report from Miran Shah had said that there is a deadlock in grand jirga for Miranshah peace agreement and the jirga members said that a week’s time has been given to the parties for consultations after which the dialogue will begin again.
According to jirga sources, the grand jirga, to be held in the Governor House Peshawar for reinstatement of the peace agreement in Waziristan and the permanent peace in the area is facing a deadlock.
Senator from South Waziristan and jirga member Maulana Saleh Shah told Geo News that an immediate decision could not be taken regarding the elimination of the check posts. This is why the negotiations have been postponed for one week so that the parties can consult with each other and after which the jirga will be called again.
Senator Saleh Shah said that the Atmanzai tribes, ulema and the local Taliban were demanding to close the check posts immediately for regular dialogue.
However, the governor NWFP said that check posts were set up because of increasing incidents of kidnapping and damaging government properties.
He said that the check posts are necessary for improving the law and order situation.
Deaths in N Waziristan
Meanwhile, a report from Miran Shah says that four security personnel killed and six injured in attacks on security forces check posts and camp in various areas of North Waziristan.
According to sources, last night miscreants attacked Darrakhel, Kambar check posts and Gharlamay camp with automatic weapons and rockets. Four security officials were killed and six wounded in these attacks.
Also, miscreants attacked Gosh check post near Miranshah. During retaliatory action, electric cables fell shutting 3 out of 7 feeders of Miranshah grid station. An office of town committee has been destroyed in Miranshah.
Security forces destroyed a car at Chashma Bridge, however no causality was reported.
On Monday, 35 miscreants were killed by security forces operation in different parts of North Waziristan.●

'Media should help govt, NGOs in eradicating child labour’

Media should help govt, NGOs in eradicating child labour’

dailytimes.com.pk
PESHAWAR: Participants at a one-day capacity building workshop on ‘Activating Media in Combating Worst Forms of Child Labour in Pakistan’ appealed to media persons to help the government, as well as national and international organisations, in curbing child labour through their writings, documentaries and awareness campaigns.
Addressing, as chief guest, the workshop that had been jointly organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), NWFP Information Minister Asif Iqbal Daudzai said it was unfortunate that child labour was on the rise in Pakistan despite presence of numerous child rights’ laws. The minister held parents responsible for worst form of child labour, and said parents should educate their children.
“If parents do their job, there will be no child labour in the country,” he said, adding that the second major barrier in eradication of child labour was poverty. “No father and mother want to play with their children’s future. But due to poverty, numerous children are subjected to mental, physical and moral torture in workplaces,” Daudzai added. “ILO should involve religious scholars and prayer leaders, who can sensitise people and can prepare parents to send their children to school, instead of workplaces,” he added. The minister also said that most child labourers in NWFP and tribal areas were Afghans. He also held the federal government responsible for spread of child labour and for financial crises being incurred by the Frontier province, and said it withheld the province’s hydropower royalty due to political reasons.
Saba Mohsin Raza, the national project manager of the ‘Activating Media in Combating Worst Forms of Child Labour in Pakistan’ project, appealed to journalists to highlight child labour issues and to help the government in curbing the menace.
She added that according to a government survey conducted in 1996, there were 3.3 million child labourers, including 2.4 million boys and 0.9 million girls. “Out of the total 37.90 million labour force, 15.23 million were found child labourers in the country,” she added.
Saba Mohsin Raza said that in Pakistan, the worst forms child labour existed in the sectors of carpet, soccer and surgical instrument manufacturing, rag pickers/scavengers, bonded labour/brick kiln, tanneries, auto workshops, fisheries, street children/beggars, trafficking, houses, coal mines and agriculture.
She, however, termed poverty, unemployment, lack of educational facilities, low literacy rate, negative attitude of family members, parents’ death, domestic violence and frequent beating/coercion at homes and schools the major reasons for child labour. staff report