Two major Al Qaeda operatives in the Tribal Areas have called upon their followers to intensify the ‘holy war’ against security forces and to seize control of Islamabad, media reports said on Thursday, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported. “Jihad is compulsory in Pakistan as it is compulsory in Afghanistan,” said the chief of the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan and Uzbek militants in North Waziristan, Qadri Tahir Yaldeshiv, in a video message, according to Adnkronos International. He also urged Muslims to avenge the Lal Masjid operation in July 2007 that left more than 100 militants and hardcore madrassa students dead, the German news agency said. Yaldshiv also talked about the need for strict Sharia law in Pakistan. “Pakistan came into being in the name of Islam, therefore Islam should be enforced in the country.”
The Uzbek commander is not popular among pro-Taliban militants in North Waziristan. Hundreds of his men were killed early last year in an offensive by local tribal fighters led by Mullah Nazir. The rivalry was renewed last week when suspected Uzbek militants attacked two pro-Taliban offices in North Waziristan, killing eight. There are reports that local tribesmen have assembled an army of hundreds to avenge the killings.