Posted on 05/07/2002 7:31:55 AM PDT by TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - One of Pakistan's top Islamic clerics called Tuesday for nationwide protests against the presence of U.S. forces in the country's deeply conservative tribal areas, where al-Qaida and Taliban fighters are believed to be hiding.
Maulana Fazle ur-Rehman, chief of the fundamentalist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party and leader of pro-Taliban rallies last year against the U.S. attacks in Afghanistan, said he had called for anti-U.S. rallies across the country on Friday.
"It's a shame for the nation that foreign forces are scouring mountains with the help of our troops in Pakistan's tribal regions," he told The Associated Press.
Pakistan launched a covert operation with U.S. assistance in the fiercely independent tribal regions last month to track down and kill or capture Taliban and al-Qaida fighters the United States believes are being sheltered there.
The search has so far proved unsuccessful.
Pakistani officials have insisted the U.S. presence was limited to nonmilitary personnel.
"No American troops are on the ground in our tribal areas," Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan said Tuesday. "Only a few communication experts are helping us to combat terrorism."
But angry tribal leaders say dozens of U.S. Special Forces are involved in the searches, with the main zone of operation apparently being the southern end of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, a semiautonomous region along the Afghan border.
Tribesmen have their own centuries-old traditions and tribal laws and normally do not even like Pakistani government interference in their affairs.
Rehman's group last year made several abortive attempts to attack the U.S.-led coalition forces at Pakistani air bases, which were being used to carry out operations in Afghanistan.
Rehman was detained in October to prevent him from speaking out against the U.S.-led campaign. He was never charged and released in March. His group was not among five Islamic organization banned by the government in January.
AP-ES-05-07-02 0953EDT
This story can be found at : http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAVEFUTX0D.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.