Article

2003-10-08 India-Pakistan

Tribals wanted for harbouring Qaeda militants not handed over

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Posted by Fred Pruitt 2003-10-08 00:20|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#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|| 2003-10-8 10:09:32 AM|| Front Page Top

#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|| [http://users.codenet.net/mweather/default.htm] 2003-10-8 10:49:58 AM|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2003-10-8 3:40:05 PM|| Front Page Top

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