Round The World
New Delhi, 10 April 2007
al-Quaeda Men In Pakistan
ANTI-US SENTIMENTS
IN WAZIRISTAN
By Priyadarshini Panda
School of International Studies, JNU
The recent clash in South Waziristan
on April 4 which killed many people, was an attack on the Tahir Yaldashev-led Uzbeks
by Waziri tribal leaders, led by Mullah Nazir following a call for jihad. It is
in continuity with the fighting of last month between the tribal locals and the
Uzbek fighters.
Since the news got currency (supported by intelligent
reports) about the presence of major al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders in this
particular region of the tribal belt of Pakistan, minor hostilities in this
area involving the local tribal people and some of the foreign militants is not
uncommon. The US-led War on Terror has reaped anti-Government and anti-US
sentiments in Waziristan rather than flushing
out the al-Qaeda militants.
As rightly said while the United States is carrying out its
War on Terror, the area has been gripped by terror. The dead body of journalist
Hayatullah Khan in June 2006 after being abducted and detained for six months
may not be very sensational (news) for people in this part of the region. It
was believed that he was detained for his reporting on the US military
action in tribal agencies. But this area may become a major flash point if
these kinds of clashes are continued to be ignored.
Military operation in Waziristan
began in 2004. Since then, there have been two deals; one in 2004 which is an
unwritten one (in Shakai, South Waziristan)
and another in 2005 which has been signed on paper. According to the 2004 deal,
the Nek Mohammad-led militants agreed not to use Pakistan against any other country
and live in peace. However, it should be noted that the deal was a failure with
subsequent killing of Nek Mohammad. The deal of 2005, signed between Mahsuds
and the Government, made the militants agreed not to attack the military and
target the administration. Again this deal was not taken very seriously by the
local militants. Abdullah Mahsud, the tribal leader, disowned it, causing
further violence.
The Peace Agreement signed between the local militants (led
by Maulana Nek Zaman) and the administration (in North
Waziristan) in September 2006 is a recent one in this category. According
to this agreement, the militants have agreed not to attack the security forces
of the State and its properties; restrain from running parallel administration;
not to carry out target killings; and departure of all foreigners (a euphemism
for al-Qaeda and other foreign jihadis) in North
Waziristan.
The first major problem is with the presence of foreigners,
not only in North Waziristan, but all over the
FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas). The deals of 2004 and 2005 failed
precisely over this issue. Now the
question becomes relevant what would be the future of this agreement in the
context of the recent uprising of the militants against the foreigners,
including the Uzbeks.
In adherence to the 2006 deal, the administration is faced
with a dilemma about the foreigners. It could neither accept them by
registering them successfully nor in
evacuating them totally and most of them belong to the Central Asian region and
particularly Uzbekistan.
Interestingly, many of these foreigners are truly respected by the local
communities and the tribal custom would not give permission
if they are to be pushed out forcefully.
Against backdrop, this issue
of anger of the local militants against these foreigners needs a careful
insight. Speculations are being made about over the issue:
some say that the government is controlling and trying to win over the local
tribesmen; some say there is a split inside the Taliban-al-Qaeda duo. The truth
may be something else.
The first and foremost is that such violence is limited to South Waziristan. Secondly, it was targeted at Tahir
Yuldashev, a particular group of Uzbeks. Thirdly, other Uzbek fighters of North Waziristan did not come to support the South Uzbeks.
Initially, the people including the Wazirs were happy with the Uzbeks. The Uzbeks
could settle here only with the help of Nek Mohammad, the leader who was killed
in 2004. In addition to that, the Uzbeks helped the local people in improving
their economic condition by providing them with cash often in dollars. Now the
question comes why one section of the local community turned against Tahir's
Uzbek fighters?
Reports say that many of the Uzbek fighters had targeted the
locals for being either pro-government or American spies; not only that, they
were also involved in killing of the local leaders, kidnapping and looting
banks over there. It raised serious discontentment on the part of the local
militants led by Maulavi Nazir. It is also believed that he was highly dissatisfied with the Uzbeks for two reasons: involvement
of the Uzbeks in the local administration and the killing of an Arab fighter
belonging to al-Qaeda allegedly by the Uzbeks.
These issues when
put together, raise the following questions: Are the Uzbek fighters no more
welcome in South Waziristan, though the tribal customs do not oppose it? Is it
likely that this fight against foreigners will spread to rest of the FATA; or
it will be limited only to South Waziristan? What would be the role of the Government
with the Uzbeks and the Mullah Nazir group trying to impose their writ over
this region? Will the local writ of the
state run?
There is a major problem of the recent deal. According to
the agreement, there would be no target killing and no parallel administration
in the Agency. When military operation in Waziristan began in 2004, Pakistan's
army entered the region in search of al-Qaida and Taliban fighters who were
using Waziristan as a base for attacks against American and Allied forces in
Afghanistan. Since the military operation started, the tribal areas have been
thrown into a quagmire of violence and now “Talibanisation”. Now, though the
government is supporting the local population to evict the foreigners, it is
unlikely for Mullah Nazir to allow the Pakistani state to impose its writ and
it is creating the real problem for Pakistan.
There are also rumors about the involvement of Pakistani
state in all these conflicts in order to destabilize Afghanistan. There are
hints of a divide between the al-Qaeda Taliban and the Yaldashev. Also, there
is news that Yaldashev has been bribed by foreign elements. If this is true, it
may be a major break-through in this area.
It is true that these clashes, specially the recent one is
limited both geographically and group-wise. But still these events are very
crucial; and it is perilous to ignore the implications of these clashes.---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
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