The surprise comes in that they're actually admitting it...
Expressing a lack of confidence in the jirga and the lashkar, NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah on Friday hinted at new measures to deal with foreigners in South Waziristan Agency, saying the government had honoured all its promises but Wazir tribesmen failed to do so.
| Surely you're not saying they're a shifty lot who'd rather lie than have breakfast? |
âWe stand where we were six months ago,â said the governor, who looked disappointed by the lashkarâs slow progress in hunting down foreigners.
| But the Bad Guys have had lotsa time and lotsa warning so they could either get out of Dodge or fortify their positions. With the army having to hump it through hostile tribesmen â the very same tribal lashkars, in fact â I'm betting they took the second option. |
Addressing a grand jirga in Wana, Mr Shah said that the government had shown patience and large-heartedness but this had not yielded positive results. âWe cannot allow the situation to continue,â he said, adding the governmentâs patience should not be regarded as weakness.
| "Indecisiveness, yes. Fear, yes. Weakness, no." |
The governor made it clear that the foreigners would have to enrol with the authorities if they wanted to live in the tribal areas. âThe foreigners will have to provide their identification and this is a universally accepted rule to live in a foreign country,â he said. âYou people, the tribal elders, should suggest ways to solve the problem,â said Mr Shah, who seemed running out of ideas to resolve the crisis.
| I have an idea: Kill them all. |
Lamenting what he called South Waziristan Agencyâs link to terrorist acts in the country, he said: âTerrorists are against Pakistan and Islam and are playing into the enemyâs hands.â A tribal elder, reacting to the governorâs criticism of the lashkarâs failure to register foreigners admitted that his criticism was justified to some extent but said he could not comment more because the FCR rules bound him not to speak more. "We have lost a great deal of time and cannot afford more leniency. We care for you and we hope the tribal people will help avoid destruction and anarchy in Waziristan,â the governor added. |