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India-Pakistan
Tribals wanted for harbouring Qaeda militants not handed over
2003-10-08
A tribe accused of sheltering Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects has expressed its inability to hand over tribesmen wanted for harbouring the militants.
"Nope. Sorry. Can't do it."
In an operation in South Waziristan Agency on Thursday, the army had claimed recovering a number of Al Qaeda and Taliban activists from four houses of Zalikhel tribesmen. The political administration had given the tribal chiefs till Monday to hand over the tribesmen accused of sheltering the activists.
"Or you're really gonna get it!"
A senior administration official in Wana, South Waziristan Agency headquarter, told Daily Times by telephone on Tuesday that the Zalikhel tribe cited “problems” in convincing the wanted men to surrender. “The (Zalikhel) tribal elders said they cannot induce the wanted men to surrender,” the official said. The tribe had signed an agreement with the political administration on May 11, 2002, guaranteeing that it would not provide shelter to Al Qaeda or Taliban militants.
"Agreement? Did we sign an agreement? You sure that's my signature? Izzat me in the picture?"
According to special laws for the tribal areas, collective punishment is used to penalise the tribe not observing the agreement.
"Mahmoud! Beat his grandmaw!"
The action might include the arrest of any person from that tribe, withholding of benefits to tribal chiefs and economic blockade of the tribe. “Action can come any time,” the official warned. A tribal elder in Wana told Daily Times that Utmankhel, a sub-tribe of Zalkihel, convinced a wanted man to surrender. But another sub-tribe, Yargulkhel, stopped the Utmankhel tribe from handing over the man, forcing Zalikhel elders to allow the administration to take whatever action it deemed necessary. But a tribal elder, Khanzada, requested the administration to wait till October 9 before taking any action. He sought an extension in the deadline in a bid to convince the wanted men to surrender.
"Yeah. Lemme talk to him. Grandmaw can't take many more sessions like that..."
Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#3  its too early to cheer, but it sure sounds like the Pakis are actually trying to reassert their sovereignty over the NWFP (something the brits never managed to do, IIUC) Or at least theyre making a damned good show of it.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2003-10-8 3:40:05 PM  

#2  Some people need the fear of God instilled in them. I'm sure this tribe would have a totally different attitude after a couple of Buffs dumped a full load in their miserable little village, turning it into an instant pasture.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2003-10-8 10:49:58 AM  

#1  I guess the Paks weren't kidding:
Pakistan Forces Swoop on Tribe Sheltering Al Qaeda
Pakistani forces launched a crackdown Wednesday on a tribe accused of sheltering Taliban and al Qaeda sympathizers, officials said. Authorities are looking for three men they suspect of helping the al Qaeda cell, and gave leaders of the small Zalikhel-Qarikhel tribe until Tuesday night to hand them over. When the deadline passed, paramilitary forces began arresting members of the tribe, sealing their shops and seizing their commercial transport.
"We gave the tribesmen three days to hand over the culprits. The deadline has passed," Syed Anwar Shah, deputy administrator of the town of Wana, told Reuters, hours before the crackdown started in several areas of the tribal rim bordering Afghanistan. "The tribe has failed to surrender the culprits. They say the accused have gone into hiding," Shah added. Provincial authorities say the tribal leaders have violated an agreement reached with the government in May that they would deny sanctuary to "aliens." The laws which govern Pakistan's tribal areas allow for tribes to be punished collectively if they fail to maintain law and order. The military has already demolished the houses of the three wanted men in a village a few miles from the border.
Local residents said last week's operation near Angor Adda had created resentment among the fiercely independent, conservative and heavily armed tribesmen of the area. "People here are not happy over the operation, the killing of Arab mujahideen (holy warriors) and the arrest of local people," a local journalist said. Shah dismissed the resentment as "quite natural," but said he did not expect any resistance to the crackdown. "They are on the defensive. We are going to make large-scale arrests of the Zalikhel-Qarikhel tribe. This is an arm-twisting tactic in order to force the tribe to produce the culprits."
Posted by: Steve   2003-10-8 10:09:32 AM  

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