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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Pakistan’s flames of war spread |
| 2004-03-25 |
| Amid reports of an escalation of resistance and even foreign complicity, fighting continues between the army and suspected al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan’s tribal region of South Waziristan on the border with Afghanistan. Tribal elders had earlier tried to talk foreign militants and their local supporters into surrendering during a break in the fighting that began in earnest last week. But the army apparently was not prepared to wait any longer, and nor were their targets, as overnight reports filtered in of attacks on military bases in other parts of the troubled region, and even a rocket attack on Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province. More disturbingly, there have been confirmed reports of dissent among the ranks of the Pakistani para-military troops and the army sent into the semi-autonomous region to flush out al-Qaeda and Afghan resistance suspects. More than 5,000 forces have been deployed in the region. Pashtuns make up the second largest nationality the Army recruits from, after the Punjabis. Many of them are probably from the Waziri tribe too. At the same time, talking to Asia Times Online, a high-level army officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that India’s Research and Analysis Wing as well as the Northern Alliance - which makes up most of the government in Afghanistan - were attempting to exploit the volatile situation in the tribal areas to foment further unrest. "Yes, there are reports of infiltration from across the [Afghan] border and there is a fear that the Afghan Northern Alliance and Indian intelligence will take advantage of the situation and try their level best to further deteriorate the situation," he said. Somehow I don’t think America would be ok with such ’infiltrations’ According to a local resident in the area, fresh fighting began late Tuesday evening when Pakistan army troops occupied the homes of people in Kalooshah, situated in South Waziristan near the Afghanistan border. At the same time, Pakistani authorities forcibly removed all foreign and local journalists from the area. Several local media persons who worked as stringers for foreign publications, including one for Asia Times Online, were taken into custody and then released after having their cameras and tape recorders confiscated. The level of resistance to the Pakistan army in the tribal areas - by both foreign militants and local tribespeople - has been far greater than anticipated, according to security people who spoke to Asia Times Online. They claim that the reaction has now reached dangerous levels as it appears to be spreading beyond South and North Waziristan to the other five tribal regions. Attacks have been reported in Khuram agency (Parachanar) on army troops. There have also been protest rallies in Khyber agency, with tribal leaders warning that if the army does not withdraw from South Waziristan, they will join hands with Wazir tribes there. The country’s top brass are obviously deeply concerned at the situation, but are compelled to push on with the operation as the United States is applying heavy pressure on Islamabad to remain committed. As a result, cracks are already appearing within the army as some ranks are unwilling to take on their countrymen. In one publicized case, a major refused to fly a helicopter gunship. According to another officer, who served in North Waziristan as a junior officer, the Data Khail tribe is traditionally the most disliked among all Wazir tribesmen. These tribesmen are generally very primitive and have a long record of being associated with heroin trafficking, car theft and child abductions, where the children are sold into slave labor. Many a criminal from across Pakistan has taken refuge with them - for a fee. However, after the emergence of the Taliban in Pakistan in the 1990s, the Data Khail were widely reformed. Poppy cultivation is now prohibited in their areas, mosques and Islamic seminaries have been built and many of the young lads were educated in the famous Haqqania seminary of Akora Khattack in Pakistan, from where they returned to their homeland to improve the lot of their people. Now, in this time of crisis, despite their notorious past, other Wazir tribes have joined with the Data Khail in the name of jihad and mujahideens. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |
| #24 M4D is just a Sheltie with a keyboard and an agenda. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-03-25 4:56:18 PM |
| #23 Lol! what would we do without good old mucky |
| Posted by: jn1 2004-03-25 1:47:18 PM |
| #22 yeah! what robert say! |
| Posted by: muck4doo 2004-03-25 1:31:40 PM |
| #21 Does anyone else find it incredibly annoying when the barely literate misspell "your" as "ur"? "Ur" is a word -- it has a meaning all its own, and mis-using it like that makes you look like, well, a subliterate ass. Learn the language, folks. It's not that hard. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-03-25 1:28:04 PM |
| #20 Perv needs to ask George for just a "little" help - a couple of (hundred) tons of bombs on those "mud huts" in South Waziristan. About three buffs full should do it... preferably late at night. Also a couple for one of those 'mountain ravines' where all the tunnels end. Then we can use the special shit-smelling dogs to find the survivors in their stained shorts. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2004-03-25 1:24:21 PM |
| #19 Mmmmm... Dog! |
| Posted by: Cochise 2004-03-25 1:18:44 PM |
| #18 Ghul clearly has dog issues. ...somehow I picture him scurrying about in a tight fitting Lassie costume and eating from a monogrammed dog dish. Man....I gotta layoff the late night SNL reruns. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2004-03-25 12:12:43 PM |
| #17 world beyond your dog...Chao! My dog chao? I don't feed my dog Purina. He is not a chao, and his name is not Chao, either. Advice to Ghulam...Quit watching CNN or your testicles will rot just like your brain has; and, learn something of English semantics and nuances before making another attempt to look intellectual. |
| Posted by: AKScott 2004-03-25 12:05:04 PM |
| #16 I can't leave my pups Mr. Rasool, I've never been able to teach a pak to point much less retrieve. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-03-25 11:11:02 AM |
| #15 like they said - your dog quote doesn't translate well. |
| Posted by: ann 2004-03-25 10:17:57 AM |
| #14 Cool down Fred! u took comment about ur dog as if i am talking of ur mom!!! |
| Posted by: Ghulam Rasool 2004-03-25 10:16:25 AM |
| #13 ok..Ghu..good advice... I'll get busy and figure out how I can suffer die for a two-bit dictator who bleeds me dry so he can live far better than my dog could ever dream of. um..no, on second thought, I'll take my dog for a walk, enjoy a beautiful day - and thank God that there are American soldiers who protect me from fanatics like you. |
| Posted by: B 2004-03-25 10:15:04 AM |
| #12 Yeah. And it's in the Koran someplace, too. You could look it up... |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-03-25 10:14:08 AM |
| #11 Guys it was in CNN....My advice to u all.... take some time away from ur dogs that may help you keep urself updated about wus going on in world beyond your dog...Chao! |
| Posted by: Ghulam Rasool 2004-03-25 10:10:54 AM |
| #10 you seemed to miss my point Ghulam. But then - you seem to miss out on lots of them. |
| Posted by: B 2004-03-25 10:06:40 AM |
| #9 I am sorry if I hurt the feelings of ur dog..but well, I am just the massenger...Though you should tell Bush about it, or sue him a few million dollars for hurthing the feelings of ur dog....! |
| Posted by: Ghulam Rasool 2004-03-25 10:02:01 AM |
| #8 Oh, and loosen your turban a little. It's making your ears stick out. |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-03-25 10:01:10 AM |
| #7 In America - dogs live like Kings. They rule the house. Mine has his own room and two thrones that are his very own, weekly gooming, daily walks and great meals served twice daily. He has his very own seatbelt for the car. We even have special community playgrounds for them. Yep my dog lives like a King - as do MOST american dogs - especially President Bush's. So...you see...to an American, it would be an honor to be treated like the Dog of President Bush. You need to work on your slurs a bit. Pig thing is a bit tired too. Monkey's seem to work ok. I'd stick to the monkeys. |
| Posted by: B 2004-03-25 9:58:38 AM |
| #6 Ghulam - that doesn't translate well for Americans. We treat our dogs better than you treat your best citizens. |
| Posted by: B 2004-03-25 9:45:23 AM |
| #5 I heard that after operation against tribals, Bush gave the statement that he consider Musharaff to be more faithful than his dog.....Musharaff after listeing to this said that its an honor to be a dog/bitch of Bush...! |
| Posted by: Ghulam Rasool 2004-03-25 9:44:05 AM |
| #4 They always trot that out until it turns out to be Lashkar e-Jhangvi. It's a boogyman. |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-03-25 9:27:48 AM |
| #3 This is the first time I've even heard the concept of Indian resources in Afghanistan. Would seem to be an obvious move. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-03-25 9:11:27 AM |
| #2 oh...i see. The young men of the Data Khail tribes were, until recently, hated because they were thugs. But thanks to the new mosques and Islamic seminaries, they became peaceful, studious types - working towards human rights for women. And so they would have remained - reformed and peaceful - were it not for the US forcing Pakistan to go in and shoot up the place - just for kicks. Yes, it was not the mosques and the Islamic seminaries that turned them to Jihad - it was George Bush. I rate it 5. It's useful for the idiots, but, despite the refreshing absence of chirping birds and other excess adjectives, it still took waaaay too long to get to the point that it was all GW's fault that they turned to Jihad. I would have rated it even lower, but he did a fair job of making it appear as if the sky was falling. However, the quagmire/sky-falling seems to have a farily limited shelf life. |
| Posted by: B 2004-03-25 7:13:23 AM |
| #1 the Data Khail were widely reformed Now they collaborate with international terrorists. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-03-25 7:07:16 AM |