Tribal elders warned Pakistan and the US on Thursday not to begin a military operation in South Waziristan Agency, as political administration and military officials met to plan one against Al Qaeda there. The tribal leaders renewed their claim that Al Qaeda elements were not using their territory. âA Pushto proverb is: âIf the day belongs to the cruel, the night belongs to the poorâ. The army began an operation last month in the day time and tribesmen avenged it by attacking the army base in the night,â Malik Behram Khan, chief of Khojelkhel sub-tribe told Daily Times by phone from Wana. He was responding to media reports that the US might strike South Waziristan Agency if Al Qaeda continued to threaten its forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world.
Mr Khan said the political administration was targeting tribesmen who were associated with those who earlier were called âfreedom fightersâ and now âterroristsâ. He added that it was not true that the Ahmedzai tribe did not help the administration. âZalikhel sub-tribe may not be as cooperative as the administration wants, but the rest of the Ahmedzai tribe is very cooperative. âMy tribe handed over almost all the 12 wanted men. A military solution is not welcome,â Mr Khan said. Asked why the remaining wanted men did not surrender, he said there was a problem with trust. âThe Pakistan Army is regarded as pro-America and they thought that if they surrender, the government will hand them over to the US and they will be taken to Guantanamo Bay,â Mr Khan said.
Nisar Ahmed Wazir, a tribal political leader said on the phone from Wana, âThis situation took 25 years when we were pushed to fight the Afghan jihad. This problem will not be solved quickly.â He also denied Al Qaedaâs presence in Waziristan. âThere may be some people, but they are old and those whom the Inter-Services Intelligence had recruited,â Mr Wazir said. He said, âWe are being punished for our support to jihad and jihadis, which we did on the governmentâs insistence and for US dollars.â |