Article

2004-08-14 Afghanistan/South Asia

Pakistan celebrates its 57th anniversary on Saturday in an unprecedented atmosphere: what should be a joyous occasion to mark independence from British India will be overshadowed by the threat of terror attacks across the country. Security agencies fear retaliation for the recent arrests of two top jihadi leaders Maulana Fazalur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Akhtar and the possible apprehension of other key jihadi leaders in coming days under US pressure. The possibility of attacks has been confirmed to this correspondent by sources close to jihadi circles. They say that top Pakistani officials as well as key strategic installations and institutes will be targeted in suicide attacks. In an effort to take some of the heat out of the situation, President General Pervez Musharraf has officially announced that plans for military operations in troubled Balochistan have been shelved and that his special representative has been sent to the province to speak to nationalist Baloch leaders in an attempt to get them to end their insurgency. Musharraf has also sent exclusive messages to members of the United Jihad Council for Kashmir in which he assured them of his support for the armed struggle against the Indian army.

However, the moves might not be enough. The Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM) has already announced that it will celebrate August 14 as a "Black Day" because of the situation in Balochistan, where nationalist insurgents are conducting an ongoing campaign for more control over the region's vast natural-gas and mineral resources, as well as for increased political and economic rights. Pamphlets have also been distributed all over South Waziristan in which schools, colleges and government institutes are urged not to celebrate Pakistan's national day as a protest against the on-going military operations in tribal areas and economic sanctions imposed in the region.

Tribal troubles
In the tribal areas near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Kabul government has been working on different options for the past two years to turn Pakistani tribes against Islamabad and to induce them to ally themselves with their original roots - Afghanistan. Recent signals suggest that remarkable progress is being made in this mission. Tribal chiefs of South and North Waziristan attended a loya jirga in Afghanistan at the invitation of President Hamid Karzai in which Karzai restored their titles and honorary positions in the Afghan army that they enjoyed a few decades ago for not declaring their loyalty to Pakistan. Chiefs also came from Mahmond Agency, Bajur and Orakzai agencies. And in a strange development, a few weeks ago residents near Mahmond agency announced their "annexation" with Afghanistan. The same announcement was made last year in a village in Mahmond agency, after which skirmishes started between the Pakistan army and Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan. The skirmishes continue.

Posted by Paul Moloney 2004-08-14 12:26:30 AM|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

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