Posted on 02/23/2004 2:19:44 PM PST by knak
ISLAMABAD : Pakistani tribesmen in the rugged semi-autonomous region bordering Afghanistan have handed over dozens of people suspected of sheltering al-Qaeda militants, a government official said Monday.
Threatened by the prospect of a large-scale Pakistan military offensive to seize the suspects, tribal elders bowed to pressure and presented authorities with the al-Qaeda sympathisers.
"About 60 percent of those linked to al-Qaeda or working as facilitators have been handed over to the local authorities," the official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP.
The official did not say how many suspects had been detained but security sources earlier said authorities were looking for some 90 people accused of offering shelter to al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives in the mountainous South Waziristan area along the eastern Afghan border.
Afghan officials suspect that tribesmen in South Waziristan provide sanctuary to militants involved in attacks against the US-led coalition and Afghan forces in the Afghan provinces of Khost, Paktia and Paktika. The tribal elders handed over the accused over the past few days following a February 20 deadline given by the government last week.
The government earlier deployed thousands of troops for an operation into the area if tribal elders failed to hand over the suspects and those protecting them.
However, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid told AFP on Monday that "no offensive has been launched so far."
"Troops have been deployed in the area to plug the entry of undesired elements," Rashid said.
The minister in a statement Sunday dismissed as speculative that the beefing up of the troops followed reports that al-Qaeda network chief Osama bin Laden and his close associates had been spotted in the area.
"This step is not any individual specific but it is a part of Pakistan 's commitment to the international community against terrorism."
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri also rejected suggestions that the concentration of troops was linked to a report in London 's Sunday Express that bin Laden had been "cornered" in an area near Quetta in southwestern Baluchistan province.
They'd be loathe to run it even if one of the suspects happened to be 6'5"...
However, because Pakistan has been cooperating in the War on Terror, the US must recognize its sovereignty over these tribal border areas. There is no way that the US can violate Pakistan's borders and clean up this mess. Obviously, Pakistan itself is not able to come to grips with these fractious populations.
Then, when the Al Qaeda have become convinced that there is some magic to the protection they get by hiding in these tribal areas, we see what is depicted here.
The Pakistani government arrests Al Qaeda sympathisers and coerces them into identifying others. Detentions continue until the tribal leaders, those not yet detained, realize that their own survival depends upon winning the release of those detained, even if that requires turning in the sheltered Al Qaeda.
The magical quagmire disappears and the Al Qaeda are left with no place to run and no place to hide.
The Kerry Doctrine: "We must see to understand these people. We must find out what we did wrong and take immediate steps to rectify it. We have obviously done something horrible to these people as as soon as we figure out what it is, and punish ourselves, all this messy terrorism stuff will simply go away."
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