Lashkar starts searching for wanted men in S Waziristan (al Qaeda Alert)

Tribal Allies of Al Qaeda Submit to Pakistan Army.
By Hafiz Wazir

SHAKAI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Five tribesmen accused of sheltering al Qaeda militants surrendered to the Pakistan army at a tribal council on Saturday, after being hunted for a week in mountains on the border with Afghanistan.

The five fugitives were expected to hand in a list of foreign militants living with them in South Waziristan, a desolate region where al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri have been pursued in the past.

Thousands of turbaned Pashtun tribesmen looked on as the five men from the Zali Kheil tribe turned themselves in before a "jirga," or tribal council, and pledged loyalty to Pakistan in return for clemency.

In Shakai, a remote village around 250 miles southeast of Islamabad, the surrendering men gave traditional peace offerings of garlands, turbans, pistols and swords to the army officers.

"We give amnesty to these people in return for their pledge of brotherhood and loyalty," said Lieutenant-General Safdar Hussain, the regional army commander, who arrived at the jirga to chants of "Allahu Akbar," or "God is Greatest."

The commander said the foreign militants had until April 30 to surrender and receive a pardon or he would send troops after them.

He also announced the release of 50 tribesmen arrested after fierce clashes with Pakistani forces last month.

Amid loud applause from tribesmen famous for their independence from state authority, the leader of the five declared his allegiance.

"Pakistan is our home. We want peace here. The Pakistani forces are our brothers," Nek Mohammad said. "We regret for what has been done on the basis of misunderstanding."

Under terms brokered by local Islamist parliamentarians, Nek Mohammad's band faced a choice of surrendering or expulsion from their homeland in the semi-autonomous region of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province.

A week ago, tribal elders formed a 2,000-strong force to hunt down their kinsmen and head off a fresh offensive by Pakistani regular forces on their territory.

The tribes were stung into action after 120 people died in fighting between government forces and militants near South Waziristan's main town of Wana in March.

President Pervez Musharraf provoked militants' wrath by siding with Washington in a war on terror after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and blamed two assassination attempts in December on groups linked to al Qaeda.

U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan are banking on a "hammer and anvil" strategy with Pakistan's army to trap al Qaeda and Taliban remnants hiding out in the badlands along the border.

But there are frequent complaints from the U.S. side that Pakistan could do more.

Pakistan has 25 senior al Qaeda and Taliban suspects on its wanted list. But it has offered to let other foreign mujahideen, or Islamic warriors, who have made homes with the tribes during the past two decades, stay on so long as they register their presence.

Many Arab and Central Asian veterans of the war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, who later backed the Taliban, married into families of tribesmen they had fought alongside.

U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Matt Beevers told a news briefing in Kabul he welcomed the negotiated settlement in Shakai but military action was still likely to be needed.

"At the end of the day, I think we expect some Pakistani action there. They've done it in the past and I think they will continue to do it," Beevers said.

"They've been fighting in there and they have been dying in there, and I think that speak volumes.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4929074

Comment: Tillman's unit - the Army's 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment - was involved in operations on the Afghani side of the border to Waziristan.

Five militants pardoned for peaceful life: Aliens asked to surrender by 30th

By Ismail Khan

SHAKAI, April 24: The government pardoned the five most wanted tribal militants on Saturday in return for their pledge to live peacefully and not use Pakistani soil against any other country.

The Corps Commander of Peshawar, Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain, however, gave foreign militants until April 30 to turn themselves over and 'register' themselves with the government and furnish guarantees of good conduct from their tribal hosts.

"Otherwise, I will be constrained to use force and resume military activity," he warned at the tribal jirga held here to mark the occasion.

Significantly, both the sides avoided using the word 'surrender' for the militants who, in a symbolic gesture of tribal tradition, presented a Kalashnikov rifle, a pistol and an old sword to the Corps Commander at a Madrassah here, about 17km from Wana, regional headquarters of South Waziristan.

Hundreds of people had assembled at the Jamia Arabia Ahsanul Madaris of Maulana Qari Ahmad Hassan in this small village, barely 40km from the Pakistan-Afghan border. The courtyard of the Madrassah was crammed as tribesmen frequently raised slogans of Allah-o-Akbar and Pakistan Zindabad.

Paramilitary troops of the Frontier Corps controlled the landing site of the army helicopters while armed tribal volunteers had taken up positions on the wall overlooking the compound.

Four of the five militants were present in person while the fifth was represented by his nephew.

Proceedings of the ceremony were delayed by hours, first by differences over the venue. The military authorities wanted it to be held at Shakai, a closed area, while the militants insisted it should be held in Azam Warsak.

Then came a report that a top militant, Nek Mohammad, was not willing to forgo his will to continue jihad and lastly, the reported presence of armed men in and around the venue of the meeting.

The militants, one by one, took turn to present 'gifts' which the ISPR spokesman later in Peshawar said were weapons 'presented' to Corps Commander Safdar.

An official insisted that the five men had surrendered but as per tribal traditions had presented four Kalashnikovs and a pistol as a symbol of their submission to the government.

The government had said that the militants had agreed to surrender but the militants and the Corps Commander in their speeches avoided using the term and instead referred to 'an agreement' reached between the two sides.

The verbal agreement brokered by two pro-Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal parliamentarians provides for clemency to the five militants on the condition that they would not indulge in any anti-state activity.

The issue of foreign militants, reportedly in hundreds by official account, however, remains mute. The official understanding is that foreign militants, including veterans of the Afghan jihad, who had married and lived in the area could stay there but they would have to get themselves registered with the authorities.

However, both Nek Mohammad and Maulvi Abbas in their private conversation with Dawn insisted that there were no foreigners in this tribal region.

"This is all propaganda," Nek asserted. "The only foreigners here are the Afghan refugees but there are about two million of them in the whole of Pakistan," remarked Maulvi Abbas.

The pro-MMA MNA, who had helped broker the deal, also told newsmen that there were no foreigners in the area. He said those who were there would give guarantees of good conduct. "They should be given the right to live," he told newsmen before the jirga.

Later, ISPR Director-General Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan told a news briefing that it was the result of reconciliation.

He claimed the militants had denounced militancy, promised good conduct and assured that they would not indulge in any militant activity.

Nek Mohammad and Maulvi Mohammad Abbas, two of the five most wanted men, in their speeches did not denounce militancy.

Later, Nek told Dawn in the small room of the compound that he would continue jihad. Visibly tense and nervous and at times jittery, the 27-year-old reiterated that the Taliban leader continued to be his supreme leader.

"He is the leader of all the Muslims and we must all follow him. He is the Amirul Momineen," he said.

An Uzbek holding a Kalashnikov and a walkie-talkie tucked in an upper pocket of his leather jacket stood guard on him.

In his speech, the Corps Commander, Peshawar, lauded the militants for, what he called, their courageous and wise decision in expressing their loyalty and sense of brotherhood, and hoped that it would further reinforce national solidarity.

The holding of the jirga, he said, had belied the propaganda of Shakai being a hotbed of miscreants.

Lt-Gen Safdar made a poignant remark when he said Afghans had piloted none of the planes that had crashed into the World Trade Centre, yet Afghanistan had to face the consequences for being a sanctuary of those who had planned the attack.

He said the Pakistan Army had successfully followed its strategy of securing its western borders to preempt the entry of any foreign military into the country, an obvious reference to the United States forces operating on the other side of the border.

"But if our own brothers weaken their own army in collusion with foreign terrorists and a situation is created then the foreign forces which had entered Iraq and Afghanistan might as well enter Pakistan. Yes, it will be a matter of shame for us."

Lt-Gen Safdar blamed the foreign militants for creating 'misunderstandings' between the government and the local tribesmen for their own vested interests. "The recent Wana operation was the result of the same misunderstandings," he maintained.

The Corps Commander reiterated President Gen Pervez Musharraf's offer of clemency to foreign militants who would give themselves up to the government and furnish guarantees of good conduct from their tribal hosts. "Then they would not be surrendered to any foreign country and allowed to live with the same dignity and respect as the locals."

He announced that 50 of the 163 people captured during the March operation near Wana were being released, and said those found innocent would be freed in the due course.

"I guarantee on behalf of the Pakistan Army that this agreement will be implemented fully. I also guarantee that the political authority will also fully respect the agreement," he announced. "I am a peaceful man and do not want any trouble," he remarked.

On the occasion, he announced a development package of Rs91 million (reported by Dawn on March 25), installation of television booster and a radio transmitter in the area.

In his speech, Nek Mohammad said both sides had made mistakes, and hoped they would avoid the recurrence of misunderstandings in future.

"Pakistan is our home. We are Pakistanis too. If we make a mistake, don't listen to others, ask us (about it) directly."

Maulvi Abbas said the two sides had reached an agreement and both were obligated to abide by it.

Tribal MNAs Maulana Abdul Malik and Mirajuddin hailed the agreement, and hoped it would usher in an era of peace in the area. They demanded more funds for development and release of the innocent.

Later, the ISPR spokesman said the army would remain deployed in the area to ensure elimination of foreign militants. He, however, said the number of foreign militants in the area now was far less than the previous 400 to 500 given by President Musharraf.

"We remain committed to the war on terror. There will be no reduction in the number of forces in the area and our forces will be ready to strike anywhere they get intelligence," he said. "Foreign elements must either surrender or get eliminated."

http://www.dawn.com/2004/04/25/top1.htm

Army embraces wanted tribesmen

* Corps commander says foreign militants must surrender by April 30
* 50 tribesmen to be freed
* Nek Muhammad pledges loyalty to Pakistan

By Iqbal Khattak

SHAKAI: Five tribesmen accused of sheltering Al Qaeda militants surrendered to the Pakistan army at a tribal council on Saturday.

Thousands of tribesmen looked on as the five men from the Zalikhel tribe turned themselves in before a jirga, and pledged loyalty to Pakistan in return for clemency.

The ceremony took place at a madrassa in Shakai, 20 kilometres north of Wana. Witnesses said the five tribesmen came to the assembly unarmed and one of them offered a pistol as a gift to the corps commander while the others offered prayer mats and copies of the Quran.

?We give amnesty to these people in return for their pledge of brotherhood and loyalty," said Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Safdar Hussain, who arrived at the jirga to chants of Allah-o-Akbar. "I congratulate Nek and his colleagues on their courageous decision. You are our brothers and your allegiance pledge is exemplary," Gen Hussain said after the wanted men joined him in the ceremony.

Paramilitaries provided security for Gen Hussain while heavily-armed supporters of the wanted men took positions in and around the compound where the jirga was meeting. Gen Hussain said the foreign militants had until April 30 to surrender and receive a pardon or he would send troops after them. He also announced the release of 50 tribesmen arrested last month. The corps commander said others who were found innocent would also be freed. Gen Hussain announced Rs 90.1 million for development in Waziristan.

Amid loud applause from tribesmen, the leader of the five wanted tribesmen declared his allegiance. "Pakistan is our home. We want peace here. The Pakistani forces are our brothers," Nek Mohammad said. "We regret what has been done on the basis of misunderstanding. Let's forget what happened. We and the army should not repeat that," Nek Muhammad said. "We may have made some mistakes, and the army may have done the same. But it's important that we do not repeat them," said Mr Nek who fought alongside the Taliban against the Northern Alliance.

Nek said military commanders should not act against the tribal people on advice from others, an apparent reference to the US. "Talk to us directly if you have any suspicion," he said. Nek said Pakistan's western borders were never attacked because of the tribal people while India had attacked the country's eastern border many times. "The tribal people are Pakistan's atom bomb," said Nek. Tribal Areas security chief Brigadier (r) Mehmood Shah said no more military offensives would be needed in South Waziristan if the tribesmen abide by the conditions of the deal. However, he said Pakistani forces would nevertheless remain in South Waziristan.

Meanwhile, 30 tribesmen were injured, two of them seriously, when the roof of a house caved in as they waited for the jirga, hospital sources in Wana told Daily Times.

Agencies add: Military spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan said the wanted men would not be handed over to any country. He said the government would compensate tribesmen for their losses during the operation after a survey. US Lieutenant Colonel Matt Beevers told a news briefing in Kabul he welcomed the negotiated settlement in Shakai.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_25-4-2004_pg1_1

By Zaffar Abbas
BBC correspondent in Islamabad

Tribesmen attend jirga, or grand meeting, on Saturday in Shakai in South Waziristan, Pakistan

The deal was struck at a meeting of tribesmen on Saturday

Pakistan military authorities have freed 50 tribesmen arrested last month.

It was part of a deal struck with tribal leaders to grant amnesty to the warring tribesmen in South Waziristan, near the border with Afghanistan.

Those released were among over 160 foreign and local militants rounded up after fierce clashes that left more than 100 dead, including many troops.

A military spokesman said the move would not affect the hunt for al-Qaeda suspects, believed to be in hiding.

He said the 50 tribesmen released were not directly involved in clashes with the security forces, and were released after a proper investigation.

Weapons amnesty

The spokesman said all the local tribes have started to hand over their heavy weapons, as part of the agreement reached with the tribesmen at a grand assembly or jirga on Saturday,

The weapons surrendered to the local military commander in South Waziristan included a number of anti-aircraft guns, heavy artillery, surface-to-surface missiles, machine guns and mortars.

Under local custom, the tribesmen will keep their light weapons but will not be permitted to carry them to the main towns.

The spokesman tried to dispel the impression that the amnesty announced for the wanted tribesmen has undermined the ongoing war against terrorism.

He said military commander had told the tribesmen that all foreign nationals living in South Waziristan would have to register with authorities by Friday.

He said if investigators were able to verify the claim of tribal leaders that Arab and Central Asians living in the area were not linked to al-Qaeda, they would not be arrested.

But the spokesman said after the passing of the deadline, the military would immediately start an operation against those foreign nationals who fail to surrender and or are launching attacks inside Afghanistan from Pakistani territory.

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3657929.stm

US wants Osama captured by July

By Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON, April 26: The Bush administration wants Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his top aides nabbed by the end of July, recent reports in the US media said.

According to these reports, President Bush would prefer that the Pakistanis capture Al Qaeda leaders and hand them over to the US authorities.

Such a development would not only justify the US anti-terrorism policies but will also strengthen President Pervez Musharraf, a key US ally, both at home and abroad, the reports said.

But if the Pakistanis fail to do so, the US administration will then urge Pakistan to allow US forces to expand their already existing operations in Pakistan to capture Osama, the reports said.

The reports pointed out that the US forces already have several landing bases in the area and also have rehearsed plans for airdropping 25,000 to 35,000 troops to deal with any major development.

Quoting official sources, the reports said the Bush administration would like to be in a position to carry out direct military operations against Al Qaeda between now and June.

The reports said that internal politics may compel the Bush administration to take direct action against Al Qaeda. Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry, they pointed out, is working on a plan to prove that Mr Bush anti-terror policies have failed to stamp out threats to America.

Once the Democrats launch their attack, the administration will be hard pushed to nab major Al Qaeda leaders, particularly Osama, and will increase pressure on Pakistan to either catch the Al Qaeda leader or let the US forces do the job, they said.

If the US administration decides to launch direct attacks on Al Qaeda hideouts, it will use US Marines, CIA-sponsored paramilitary forces and the official Afghan troops, they said.

The reports said the US administration feels that last month Pakistani forces not only failed to catch major Al Qaeda leaders hiding in South Waziristan but their failure allowed Al Qaeda to move further north in the tribal belt where sympathy for the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces remains high.

http://www.dawn.com/2004/04/27/top8.htm

Militants no more in tribal area, argues Faisal

ISLAMABAD, April 27 (Online): Interior Minister Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat has said the tribal belt has been purged of al-Qaeda and Taliban suspected militants. The Minister told BBC that suspects have been completely wiped out from the area.

"The credit goes to out law enforcement agencies, tribal jirga and the grand jirga", he said.

When asked to comment about assertions that government kneeled down before militants, the minister said everyone knows how bowed down before whom.

"The most wanted men surrendered arms to government representatives in front of thousands of tribal people as the surrendering exercise was not held in room but in a public place", he said.

In response to a query about possibility of future military operation in Southern Waziristan, the minister said there was no military offensive carried out in the past, as well.

"A wrong perception was created that we carried out military operation", he said.

He contended if we had launched any military crackdown in the tribal area, we would have no suffered 40 to 45 casualties.

The Minister further said: "We call it an operation when we use all the logistics available to us I mean to say we could have used air and artillery power".

About who accept the responsibility of recent deaths of at least 45 military troops in Wana, Interior Minister said the responsibility lies with those who are behind these (terrorist) activities.

"We have only two options with us, either to let the tension continue or to defuse the tension by engaging the tribals", he opined.

He said the government achieved some positive results through engaging locals prior to the operation. However, the minister said, some elements refused to hand themselves over to government agencies and remained firm to continue their activities.

"They believed they would make the government to surrender but now, the picture is clear, we have managed to purge the area of suspected militants", he said.

Wana crisis mere misconception between Govt, tribals: Qureshi

Maulana Mairajudin Qureshi, member National assembly from South Waziristan Agency (SWA) and parliamentary leader of FATA while hailing the settlement of Wana crisis said that conflict was merely based on misconception between government and tribals.

"The settlement of Shkai crisis has foiled the attempts of anti state elements. The issue was created by few anti social elements, as their program was to create unrest in the country. But due to the efforts of incumbent government the conflict between Pakistan army and tribesmen is being settled now. We are thankful to Almighty Allah for shedding away the clouds of war from the region," he made these remarks while talking to Tribal Union of Journalists here on Monday.

He opined that the issue has been resolved amicably with government pardoning Commander Nek Mohammad and his fellow tribesmen and they as a result assured the government of living peacefully in the area.

"The time will tell that settlement of Wana crisis at Shikai will prove out to be very fruitful for national interest," he added.

Qureshi also slammed the role of Western media in provoking and exploiting the situation in the area. "Western media wrongly projected the crisis, even we and government both were unable to find any kind of High Value Target in Wana that was claimed by Western news channels," he added.

Responding to a query about HVT he said, "The operation in the area was tremendous military campaign and even a bird could not have escaped the vigilant eyes of paramilitary troops, if there was any possibility of presence of HVT in the area then how could Pakistani forces missed him. This proves that there was no HVT in the area".

While responding to a query about surrender of foreign miscreants he said that the issue will be settled very soon as talks process is continuing and it will bring good results.
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=63221

Comment: He is probably "right"; the HVT are no longer in this area, they have probably moved to North Waziristan.

STRATEGIC DEFEAT: US forces in Afghanistan are 'livid' at amnesties granted to former Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked tribesmen along the Pakistani border

AFP , ISLAMABAD
Tuesday, Apr 27, 2004

Pakistan has accepted short-term defeat and risked the wrath of its US allies for long-term strategic gains by giving in to militant tribesmen backing al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters, an analyst said yesterday.

"It is a tactical retreat," retired army general Talat Masood said of the amnesty granted to five hardcore tribal fighters who have been supporting up to 600 mainly Chechen and Uzbek fighters linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

"The Pakistani authorities did not want military confrontation because they would not be achieving their political objectives: to open up the tribal areas, make it more transparent and establish the writ of the state," he said.

"For that you need the cooperation of the tribes there, and you also want continuous access so that it doesn't turn again into a sanctuary for terrorists or narcotics peddlars," he said.

The amnesties were granted by Pakistan's military in an elaborate ceremony in a remote village in Pakistan's semi-autonomous northwest tribal region on the border with Afghanistan on Saturday.

The tribesmen, led by Nek Mohammad, a former Taliban commander from a hardcore Pashtun subtribe, had been the target of army offensives including a disastrous 12-day operation last month. They have topped a government wanted list since January.

Many of the foreign fighters they have been sheltering are believed to have been slipping across the border to kill US and Afghan targets in Afghanistan over the past year.

Under the agreement between the rebel tribesmen and Pakistani authorities, they will be allowed to stay in the region if they sign pledges to lay down their arms and cease armed activities.

Masood said that bringing the tribesmen on side was critical to redressing what has been the Pakistani army's Achilles' heel: lack of human intelligence.

"The most important thing is establishing human intelligence," he said. "The objective is to ... ensure that the tribes are unable to indulge in activities against the interests of the state and to bring them closer to mainstream politics, integrate them with the rest of the country."

US forces in Afghanistan, who have been trying to seal the border against militants infiltrating from Pakistani sanctuaries to attack aid workers, troops and government targets, are "livid" at the deal, according to Western diplomats.

"These Chechens and Uzbeks are not innocent farmers left over from the mujahidin wars [against Afghanistan's Soviet occupiers in the 1980s] who've got stranded in the region and married local girls," an Islamabad-based diplomat said.

"They've been running over the border killing people. Nek Mohammad and his men have been supplying them arms, giving them sanctuary. Nek Mohammad is probably indirectly responsible for hundreds of deaths in Afghanistan," the diplomat said.

Masood said the US military was likely to be "uncertain" about the deal.

"Because they would not know as to how it would ultimately figure out, but from a Pakistani perspective I think it has been a good agreement," he said.

Pakistani forces had probably learnt from the failures of the US military's "guns blazing" approach in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I think they would have been inspired by the US approach to the operation in both Afghanistan and Iraq," Masood said. "I think they are trying to now use the political instrument for achieving their goals rather than using the military as the centerpiece."

Masood said a key difference between the US and the Pakistani military's approaches was that the Pakistanis were operating on home turf.

"Pakistan is operating in its own territory, whereas the US [is] operating in someone else's territory, so they [can't] use the same approach," he said.

Pakistan's largest-ever offensive against al-Qaeda-linked fighters last month failed to capture any significant militant leaders but resulted in the deaths of at least 46 troops, 15 civilians and 63 militants.

Scores of homes were also destroyed, and anti-military resentment spread among the 4 million tribesmen who live in the seven fiercely independent tribal districts hugging the border.

"The military operation was a failure. But they're turning that military setback into something at least politically acceptable," Masood said.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/04/27/2003138280

Deadline for Wana foreigners' surrender extended by week
US military base in Paktika not to affect Pak interests: Shaukat

Friday April 30, 2004 (1700 PST)
ISLAMABAD, May 01 (Online): Government Friday extended the deadline given to the foreigners, harbouring in the tribal areas for another seven days, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Chief Major General Shaukat Sultan said. The deadline earlier given to those foreigners expired on Friday, however no foreigner came to surrender before political administration of South Waziristan Agency.

Shaukat Sultan talking with this news agency said "the foreigners will have to get themselves registered with local administration otherwise they will be kicked out of the region forcibly". "There is no third option in this regard", he said emphatically.

He said despite disappointing response by the foreigners to the government offer, government was still following the policy of political resolution of the conflict initiated with the reconciliation of Army and local militants, therefore another seven days extension have been made to the surrender deadline.

To a question he said government was not only contended on the bids of local tribes to woo foreigners for registration but was also taking a stock of the situation precisely.

When asked whether the current deadline would be proved as ultimate one in this regard, he said "it?s a political procedure and nothing can be said in absolute terms in such kinds of circumstances."

Shaukat was however firm that the foreigners would have to face military operation if they don?t get registered with government.

Meanwhile, not a single foreigner harbouring in the tribal areas Friday surrendered to local administration after the expiry of deadline, which was offered by Government to the foreigners.

The foreigners residing along the Pak-Afghan border were given deadline to surrender to the local administration otherwise to avert another operation against them but not a single foreigner came to surrender.

However, Director General ISPR, Maj General, Shaukat Sultan while talking to Online said that the expiry of deadline did not mean that the military operation had become inevitable. Government wants to resolve the issue politically and it is our desire not to carry out another operation.

There is no extraordinary military movement in the area after the expiry of deadline for surrender of foreigners as the routine life was observed in the area with zero tension.

However, paramilitary force, deputed there, was continuously checking the entering vehicles in the tribal areas.

Meanwhile, Pakistan denied the reports appearing in a section of press regarding entry of coalition troops in a village Sperkey near Pak-Afghan border about 80 Kilometer South of Miranshah, says a brief press note issued by ISPR.

"No foreign troops have entered Pakistani territory any where along Pak-Afghan border," it added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has made it clear that US military base in Paktika will not affect Pakistan Army interests.

Pakistan?s Inter Services Public Relations Director General Shaukat Sultan talking to BBC said that Pakistan has no concern on US military base in Paktika province as it is in Afghanistan.

He also made it clear that despite the base being in close proximity to Pakistan it does seem a way out of question that US planes will enter in Pakistan airspace from Paktika air base.

"It is inside Afghanistan and that is Afghan territory and I cannot comment on that," he added.

When asked to comment on some reports that US is not satisfied with Pakistan deals over Wana ISPR director general said this is totally wrong.

"There is an official statement from US administration in which they expressed full satisfaction on it," he added.

http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=63717

Foreigners' registration deadline extended

By Ismail Khan

PESHAWAR, April 30: The government on Friday agreed to give another week to parliamentarians from tribal areas to persuade militants to facilitate the registration of their foreign comrades in the South Waziristan tribal region, sources told Dawn.

The extension was given at a meeting in Islamabad attended by, among others, Corps Commander, Peshawar, Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain, the two tribal parliamentarians from South Waziristan, Maulana Mirajuddin and Maulana Abdul Malik, Secretary (security) Fata Brig. Mehmood Shah and the newly-posted administrator, Asmatullah Gandapur, on Thursday.

The latest extension comes after the expiry of the previous deadline on Friday, announced by the Peshawar Corps Commander, at a meeting in Shakai in South Waziristan on April 24, the day he pardoned five most wanted tribal militants.

Sources in Waziristan said the extension was granted on the request of the two parliamentarians who had sought more time to talk to the militants to persuade their foreign guests to register themselves with the government in line with the amnesty announced by President Pervez Musharraf.

These sources, however, claimed that even the one-week deadline was tentative and was meant only for internal working to evaluate the progress made on the registration of foreign militants initially believed to be between 500 and 600.

Officials, however, now claim the figure might have dropped as most of the foreign militants have left the area or have crossed over into neighbouring Afghanistan. The sources said that the parliamentarians, who had helped broker the deal between the government and the tribal militants, had argued that the 'deadline' served with sword hanging over their head and hampered their working.

"The one-week deadline extension is for internal evaluation of the progress made on the foreign militant front but in no way should it mean to be a cut-off date. In effect, there is no deadline," insisted one source with access to the parliamentarians.

He said that the parliamentarians and the administrator had been told to 'get down to work' immediately and had been dispatched to the volatile region to take tribal elders into confidence, arrange for guarantees from those sheltering foreign militants, provide their lists to the government and get them registered.

The source acknowledged that influential tribal elders were miffed over being left out in the 'reconciliation' agreement with militants brokered through the clerics-turned-parliamentarians and, therefore, a need was felt to get them back into the process.

One source said that Nek Muhammad, a leading militant among the five pardoned by the government, had conveyed to the government his willingness to help with the registration of foreign militants under his patronage.

This source claimed that Nek had also promised to furnish the required guarantees of future good conduct on their behalf and an undertaking that they would not use Pakistani soil against any foreign country.

The source said he was confident the government and the tribal militants would come to some sort of an arrangement on the registration of foreign militants given their reservations over being photographed. An official source, however, insisted that the government had made it clear it would resort to force if foreign militants did not take advantage of the amnesty offer.

He reminded that the Peshawar Corps Commander in his speech on April 24 had warned of resuming military operation if foreign militants hiding in the tribal region refused to get themselves registered with the authorities.

The source said that the tribal parliamentarians made certain demands at the Thursday meeting but were told in unequivocal terms that the government had done enough on its part and would now want the tribes to deliver before it could agree to give more.

http://www.dawn.com/2004/05/01/top5.htm

The Politics of a Retreat
Kanchan Lakshman
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management; Assistant Editor, Faultlines: Writings on Conflict & Resolution

Ever since President Musharraf announced a turn-around on his country's support to the Taliban and Al Qaeda on September 19, 2001, Pakistan has been treading a thin line between placating the domestic Islamist extremist constituency and maintaining the alliance with the United States. Since the volte face, Pakistan has arrested more than 500 Al Qaeda/Taliban operatives, handing a majority of them over to US custody. Last week, however, saw the military regime adopt a strategy of amnesty, not an uncommon approach across many theatres of anti-state violence in South Asia.

Five tribesmen accused of sheltering Al Qaeda terrorists surrendered to the Pakistan army at a Jirga (tribal council) on April 24, 2004. The five men, led by Nek Mohammed, from the Zalikhel tribe turned themselves in before the Jirga and reportedly pledged loyalty to Pakistan in return for clemency. "We give amnesty to these people in return for their pledge of brotherhood and loyalty," said Peshawar Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Safdar Hussain after the wanted men joined him in the ceremony that occurred at a Madrassa at Shakai, South Waziristan, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region.

The military regime has reportedly agreed to halt its operations against Nek Mohammed's tribal combatants, set free most of the 163 suspected Al Qaeda supporters who were captured during the March 2004 operations, and provide a grant of Rupees 90.1 million for development in Waziristan. In return, Nek Mohammed and his clique promised to refrain from attacks on Pakistani forces and the U.S. troops in adjacent Afghanistan. Among others, the unwritten agreement also specifies that: local tribesmen will not provide protection to 'foreign terrorists' (Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks among others) in the FATA; the tribesmen will surrender their heavy arms to local authorities; tribesmen are to ensure registration of all foreigners who would then be given amnesty and residence by the state.

As a result, the tribal combatants, designated as 'most wanted' only a month ago, were seen embracing the military regime's representatives after a deal reportedly brokered by leaders of the Islamist grouping, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). Startled by the bonhomie expressed at the surrender ceremony, a Western diplomat in Islamabad said, "How can you go and fight these people last month and embrace them this month?"

The 30-something Nek Mohammed, who was a 'commander' at the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan during the Taliban rule, and his tribal combatants had, in March, led a fierce resistance to an army-led offensive on their hideouts in the remote South Waziristan area, where senior Al Qaeda leaders are thought to have taken refuge. At least 145 people, including 46 troops, were killed during these operations. Some Western diplomats have claimed that Nek not only harboured, but also supplied arms and men to Central Asian Al Qaeda-linked terrorists for cross-border attacks on aid workers, troops and Government targets in Afghanistan over the past 12 to 18 months. "He is, indirectly or directly, responsible for the deaths of up to 400 people in Afghanistan," an unnamed Western diplomat based in Pakistan told AFP.

Since the March operations, the state had been threatening military action against the tribal fighters and had also postponed deadlines for threatened military action on two occasions. That Nek Mohammed, reportedly a popular figure in South Waziristan, was a crucial actor is evident from the fact that a wide spectrum of powers within the Pakistani state was involved in the negotiations. According to Pakistani analyst Nasim Zehra, tribal elders, two elected parliamentarians, the Frontier Constabulary, Army regulars, Special Forces, the Governor, tribal agents, FATA officials and the President were variously involved at different stages.

After the March debacle, the military regime has been attempting to isolate the five 'most wanted' in order to neutralize the estimated 400-odd foreign fighters believed to be holed up in the region. The objective is to either neutralize them within Pakistani territory or flush them out into Afghanistan, where the US troops are stationed, but this has evidently not worked. While a fair amount of ambivalence still dominates the military regime's end game, the state has evidently conceded its limited coercive power in the FATA.

The military regime is currently caught in the dilemma of protecting the surviving remnants of its own creation, the Taliban, and the need to project the image of a responsible state internationally. The 'do more' exhortations from Washington only add to the complexity by creating a necessity of having to deny a 'retreat' on the state's part in the FATA deal. The continued reversal of the long pursued 'strategic depth theory' is, however, becoming increasingly awkward. While the March 2004 operations in FATA led to heavy casualties for the Pakistani troops and failed to neutralize the Al Qaeda in the region, the aftermath brings to light the perils of the apparent demobilization of the jehadis through conciliatory deals. However, while officially indicating that "There has been reconciliation? achieved through mutual consultation and negotiation", the military regime has had to reiterate at the highest levels, as in the past, that there is no dilution in Pakistan's commitment to eliminate terrorism from its soil.

Though the Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives would try and secure themselves from any future offensive in the region, the demonstration effect of a 'reconciliation' is expected to be high in the immediate future. "The world knows who has really surrendered," Nek Mohammed is reported to have declared at the ceremony before thousands of tribesmen.

While enforcing specificities of any unwritten agreement is troublesome, the chances of the tribesmen abiding by such a deal are very low in a region historically known to defy the writ of the state. More significantly, the real character of relations between the Pakistan Army and the 'rebellious' tribesmen remains murky. It is useful to recall Nek Mohammed's observation at the 'reconciliation' ceremony: "We are loyal to Pakistan and are ready to fight in Kashmir or anywhere else if asked by the Government. It's a propaganda that we were terrorists."

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/sair

SOUTH ASIA INTELLIGENCE REVIEW
Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 2, No. 42, May 3, 2004

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