The casualties suffered by the Pakistan Army in the ongoing military operations in South Waziristan rose to 43 on Friday when bodies of eight missing soldiers were found by members of a pro-government tribal Lashkar (force). Naib Subedar Sajid and the seven soldiers had gone missing when militants ambushed their military convoy near Sarwakai Tehsil on March 22. Government officials on that occasion had confirmed that 12 soldiers were killed and 24 sustained injuries in the ambush. But the news about the missing soldiers was withheld for days. Corps Commander Peshawar, Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain, told The News that the mutilated bodies of the eight soldiers were found by the Mahsud tribal Lashkar and delivered to the authorities. "These were cold-blooded murders. This is the 'Jihad' that those terrorists are waging. Those giving 'Fatwa' against the Army and in support of such killers should do some soul-searching," he charged. According to the corps commander, the soldiers were overpowered after their vehicle went down in the ambush. "The terrorists executed our troops after taking them prisoner. But I don’t know when our men were murdered," he said.
| Apparently the Islamic heroes tied their hands behind their backs and "had some fun with them" before murdering them. |
Saying that he becomes emotional when it is an issue concerning his troops, Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain said it would not have mattered much if they had died in action. "I am going out to perform the Namaz-i-Janaza of my martyred soldiers. I have attended the funerals of many soldiers while serving in the Northern Areas but the Namaz-i-Janaza today is more painful on account of the circumstances in which these soldiers were murdered," he explained. Tribal sources said the soldiers’ bodies were found from the foothills of the Kunda Ghar near the Gharezai village in the Sarwakai Tehsil. Members of the Mahsud tribal Lashkar had gone to the area to collect information about certain suspects involved in the March 22 ambush on the military convoy when they were informed about the presence of the bodies near the hills. They brought the bodies in a tractor-trolley to Sarwakai and handed them over to the political administration. There were also reports that the soldiers were slaughtered after being captured.
Twelve Frontier Corps militiamen had also gone missing during an encounter with the militants in Kalosha village near Azam Warsak on March 18. Subsequently, the militants’ commander Nek Mohammad claimed in an interview with The News that he was holding the 12 militiamen along with two tehsildars, Matiullah Burki and Mir Nawaz Marwat. Until then, the government had listed the 14 men as missing.
| So now the turbans only have four hostages? |
In fact, government officials were claiming that the two Tehsildars had taken refuge with some sympathetic tribesmen and were looking for an opportunity to return to Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan. The militants have refused to release the 2 Tehsildars and 12 Frontier Corps personnel despite the appeals of at least two tribal Jirgas, one comprising elders from the Zalikhel sub-tribe to which Nek Mohammad and other most wanted tribal fighters belong and the other made up of former parliamentarians and prominent elders representing six tribal agencies. Instead, the militants want the government to release the 160 people who were apprehended during the military operation in Azam Warsak area, withdraw troops from the affected localities, compensate the families whose homes were demolished and facilitate the return of the thousands of displaced households.
Through the Jirgas, the government has demanded surrender of Nek Mohammad and his four accomplices, namely Sharif Khan and his brother Nur Islam, Maulvi Abbas and Maulvi Aziz. It has also demanded expulsion of all non-Pakistanis from the area. In view of the seemingly uncompromising stand of the two sides, hopes for a breakthrough in the peace talks were fading and fears of another round of bloodletting were growing. Following the failure of the latest Jirgas, leading Ulema had gathered in Wana to make another bid for peaceful solution of the dispute. The jirga of the clergymen is expected to travel to the militants’ hideouts near the border with Afghanistan today to talk peace and prevent bloodshed. Tribesmen in South Waziristan felt the militants were more likely to listen to the Ulema than to the tribal elders because they have the same anti-US worldview and sympathise with each other’s cause. A number of Ulema in the NWFP and Punjab have also issued "Fatwa" (religious edict) in favour of the militants and against the military operation in South Waziristan.
Maulana Abdul Malik, the pro-MMA MNA from South Waziristan, and former North Waziristan parliamentarian Maulana Deendar, were among the Ulema who have already reached Wana to join the Jirga. Other Ulema were also on their way to Wana to take part on the peace mission. Meanwhile, Corps Commander Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain told The News that the search operation by his troops in the Azam Warsak area would most likely conclude today. "This would accomplish our mission to deny a safe haven to the terrorists. We have flattened their hideouts, seized their arms and ammunition and communication equipment, and dispersed them into small groups. We would now start winding down the operations but the cordon off the troubled area by the Army and Frontier Corps troops would continue. We don’t want them to return to their strongholds again," he stressed.
| Given any thought to hunting down the small groups and killing them? Wotta military genius. |
Encouraged by the relative peace in Wana and its surroundings for the last few days, a number of families were seen returning to their homes on Friday. But households were reportedly moving out of the Azam Warsak area due to fears of the next round of fighting. Pamphlets in Pashto threatening those opposing the al-Qaeda and Taliban and their local supporters with dire consequences were found in circulation in Sarwakai and Ladha in the Mahsud tribe’s territory in South Waziristan on Friday. Announcements with similar messages were made on loudspeakers fitted on vehicles by Taliban look-alikes in Spinkai Raghzai area the day before.
| It's not the government that's in charge in South Waziristan, and the hard boys aren't even being polite about the fact anymore. |
In the neighbouring Tank district, a walk was staged on Friday to criticise the civilian casualties and suffering and demand an end to the military operation in South Waziristan. The participants of the walk carried placards in support of their demands. It was organised by the south Waziristan Development Organisation, the Tribal Union of Journalists, the Pakistan Human Rights Organisation, FATA, the Tank Press Club and the local associations of the lawyers and traders. A memorandum comprising demands of the participants was presented at the offices of the District Coordination Officer, Tank and the Political Agent, South Waziristan. The guards at the latter office refused to let the protesters in or accept the memorandum. |