Missile kills Pakistan tribal head

Thanks for the ping ADM.....I hope next year we can close this thread with good news.....:-)

"A candidate for the Nek-treatment"

"a phone call to The News from an undisclosed location"

Maybe they can get him to call again?

a phone call to The News from an undisclosed location"

Hello.....haven't these morons heard about Echelon....?

Dumb......but a good dumb.

I am sure this is a dumb question, but how come this guy is a powerful politician in Pakistan if he is a big terrorist??

Maulana Fazlur Rehman

http://www.terrorismcentral.com/Library/Biographies/Bios/Rehman/BioRehman.html

It sounds to me like Osama is probably living in his guest bedroom.

It sounds to me like Osama is probably living in his guest bedroom.

http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=87716

This is not unlikely as

General Musharraf is serving as shield for Qazi Hussain Ahmad as he is asked what is the reason that every high profile leader of al-Qaeda is arrested from the homes of those belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami, he pointed out. Despite of these facts, Qazi Hussain Ahmad always targets general Musharraf, he added.

He was of the view had opposition been sincere, Maulana Fazlur Rehman would have been Prime Minister today. But the key opposition parties did not cast votes in support of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, he underlined.

Better to learn English than Arabic...

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-1-2005_pg1_1

Musharraf for end to student politics

LAHORE: President Pervez Musharraf on Friday empahsied that students should not get involved in politics and that political parties should stay away from educational institutions.

"Educational institutions should be free of politics,"President Musharraf said in his speech at the concluding session of the 2-day Punjab Students Convention 2004 at Aiwan-e-Iqbal.

Punjab Governor Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool, Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Atta-ur-Rehman, Punjab Education Minister Mian Imran Masood and vice chancellors of public and private universities were also present. President Musharraf praised Pervaiz Elahi's decision not to reorganise the Pakistan Muslim League's student wing in Punjab. "All political parties should emulate this and let students concentrate on their studies only," he said.

The president said that the education sector had fallen into a state of neglect in the past but his government gave education the highest priority so far. "The federal government allocated Rs 800 million only to education five years ago. This was too small a sum to benefit the education sector. Therefore we increased this sum to Rs 9.1 billion, registering a phenomenal 900 percent increase," he said.

He said the previous government allocated Rs 180 million for science and education, while the present government had allocated a huge sum of Rs 6 billion to science and education. President Musharraf stressed that students should acquire technical education to prepare for modern challenges. He also stressed improving the quality of education by reinforcing faculties at educational institutions. President Musharraf said that he did not believe in westernising society but wanted to make Pakistan an enlightened, moderate and progressive welfare state as envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The president said Pakistan had its own culture and tradition and which must be promoted by relinquishing fanaticism.

He said Pakistan's close ties with the United States was acceptance of the fact that the US was the only superpower in the uni-polar world. But he denied that Pakistan was solely dependent on the US.

He said the country needed national solidarity and Islamic principles and Jinnah's teachings gave clear guidelines to the nation on making the country a progressive and modern welfare state. "We need to be tolerant in our attitude towards transforming ourselves into a tolerant society," he said. He lamented that although Pakistan was an atomic power, it was listed among the countries with poor literacy. He said serious efforts were under way to ensure quality modern education to young people. He said the government wanted to bring over one million seminaries' students into national mainstream. He stressed students graduating from seminaries should have opportunities for playing a role in national development instead of becoming a cleric only.

The president said Muslims occupied 70 per cent of natural resources of the world but had only 600 universities whereas there were 1,000 universities in Japan alone.

Musharraf said the Organization of Islamic Countries was being revitalised and special focus would be given on the promotion of education, especially scientific education and training. He called on Muslims to learn English to meet the challenges of modern times, saying social reformer and educationist Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had also asked Muslims to learn the English language. "Pakistanis should consider learning the English language." The president suggested setting up centres of excellence in Islamic states. He also emphasised improving Pakistan's image abroad.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-1-2005_pg7_26

MMA says govt trying to make country secular

KARACHI: Central leader of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Sahibzada Maulana Ans Shah Noorani has claimed days of the army rulers are numbered, as the countrywide ongoing campaign of the alliance will soon throw them out of power.

He was speaking at a protest demonstration organised by the MMA against declaration by President Musharraf to continue as Chief of the Army Staff, outside Karachi Press Club on Friday.

Prominent among others who spoke at the protest demonstration were MMA MNA Mohammed Husain Mehnati and Mohammed Aslam Mujahid. Carrying banners and placards, protesters raised slogans against army rulers and " American intervention in the internal affairs of Pakistan." Maulana Ans Norrani appealed to ulema to play their due role in guiding the people and said the army-led government was bent on making Pakistan a secular state. "Not only do the rulers want to eliminate ulema and seminaries and remove religion column from passport, but they are also ridiculing veil, beard and tenets of Islam.

They are doing all this at the behest of the US government," he added.

He claimed on the one hand law and order was deteriorating in the country and, on the other, people were facing unemployment, price rise and poverty. He accused President Musharraf of violating the constitution and befooling the people, and said: "His remaining the Chief of the Army Staff is not only against the principles of democracy, but it also amounts to continuation of martial law.

He has dishonoured the pledge he made to the nation one year ago to shed his military uniform." MNA Mohammed Husain Mehnati claimed the participation of a large number of people in today's demonstration showed the people had rejected the army rule, violation of the constitution and American intervention in the internal affairs of the country.

He said the people of Pakistan held the armed forces in high esteem, "but they will not tolerate the humiliation of ulema and efforts by the government to lower the status of seminaries." Mehnati vowed that the MMA would keep pursuing its struggle against "the unconstitutional and undemocratic regime of President Musharraf." staff report

That's why they are shooting people in Chitral. They didn't get their way.

MMA are trying to pick a fight. It isn't about what people wear on their heads or grow on their chins.

Musharaff is on the right track with the move toward a more secularized education. They are discussing this in Saudi Arabia, too. PArents are writing articles in the paper about how their children are taught nothing but death.

However, when you educate these people they need to have jobs that reflect their educational attainments. Some of these young people who join Al Qaeda are not just a bunch of stupid loosers. They do ssspeak English and they do have college degrees.

Growing the economy will help absorb these young people.

http://www.chitralnews.com/IN1.htm

Mushareff wants the kids to study, not get indoctrinated.

A HS boy claimed that many are joining the radical parties in Chitral, Pakistan as a result of the American WOT.

Good analysis. I hope your theory is correct.

Many Fronts in War on Terror says Musharraf:

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=58&story_id=14811&name=Pakistan+lobbies+for+EU+trade+on+Paris+visit
Pakistan leader talks trade and terrorism in Paris

PARIS, Dec 8 (AFP) - In France on the last leg of a series of international visits, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday defended his record in tackling Islamic extremism and lobbied for EU trade preferences which he says are vital for the country's future stability.

The president, who has been in Britain, the United States and several other countries, was lunching with President Jacques Chirac at the Elysee palace. He was also to see the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the world's 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims, before leaving for Pakistan.

In a breakfast briefing with journalists, Musharraf repeated his message that the US-led campaign against terrorism must not be limited to military

measures but include action to tackle the social and economic roots of extremism.

"Pakistan happens to be in the forefront of fighting terrorism. But we see the combat as having two dimensions. One dimension is being applied. This is the fighting and the military aggression to which we are contributing the maximum.

"However the second dimension does not seem to have started yet. And this second dimension is the real dimension - the strategic dimension - which is addressing the root causes," he said.

Musharraf said the path to long-term success in reducing Islamic militancy lay in reducing poverty and illiteracy, and above all in finding a solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

"The Palestinian dispute has laid down roots everywhere. Look at Iraq. I agree that the US military campaign there has to be sustained or there will be total instability.

"But the essential strategy is a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute. Its resolution will have effects everywhere. It will strike at the core of terrorism," he said.

The president said Pakistani forces in the so-called tribal areas along the Afghan border had scored major successes against Islamic insurgents linked to the former Taleban regime, and that the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been rendered inoperational.

"We have eliminated the insurgents in five valleys which were their centre of operations. They are on the run now in the mountains. They have ceased to exist as a homogenous group with command and control.

"Ben Laden is hiding which means he is not communicating and not operating .... I learned in the army that you exercise control through personal contact or communication. So I do not think he is any longer in total command and control of the group," he said.

The Pakistani delegation - which includes the foreign, commerce and information ministers - was using the Paris leg of the tour to push for the maintenance of EU trade preferences introduced in 2002 but due to run out early next year.

Under the changes Pakistan would no longer enjoy zero tariff access to the EU's 25 member nations for most of its exports, and the country is pressing for an easing of the conditions needed to qualify again for the preferential regime.

"One billion dollars (EUR 778 million) in exports can create 200,000 jobs - and that in turn supports one million people. That is the way to control extremism. It is unfair that something the EU gave us is now being taken away. We have not yet reached the stage where it can be withdrawn. We still need it," said Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar.

Musharraf confirmed his intention to stay in power till 2007 and said the aim of his international tour was to improve the image of his country, which was in the midst of a "societal transformation" towards a moderate Islamic state.

"In the past extremist organisations sprang up and because they were militant and aggressive they held the vast moderate majority to ransom. We are now ensuring that the moderate majority rises up to dominate the extremist minority," he said.

"President Pervez Musharraf on Friday empahsied that students should not get involved in politics and that political parties should stay away from educational institutions. The president said Pakistan had its own culture and tradition and which must be promoted by relinquishing fanaticism."

More good news from Musharraf and continued validation of our foreign policy with Pakistan.

--Boot Hill

I noticed that this thread is still kicking ;-)

http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GA19Df05.html

Karachi opens door to US forces
By Syed Saleem Shahzad and Masood Anwar

KARACHI Having teamed up with the US to help eliminate Taliban rule in Afghanistan, Pakistan is once again proving its worth in the "war on terror", this time in Washington's quest against Iran.

Seymour Hersh of the New Yorker has reported that since at least last summer, US teams have penetrated eastern Iran, reportedly with Pakistan's help, to hunt for secret nuclear and chemical weapons sites and other targets in the hardline Islamic country, which features prominently on the Bush administration's "axis of evil", along with now "liberated" Iraq and North Korea.

Exclusive information gathered by Asia Times Online shows that Pakistan has provided extensive facilities to special United Kingdom and US units to train them in commando operations in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, which in many ways resembles the Iranian towns of Tehran, Shiraz, Isphan and other urban centers. Special forces from the US and Britain have staged unannounced exercises in Karachi. With its maze of high rises, communication networks and the division of the city (Sher-i-Bala and Sher-i-Payien), Tehran and Karachi are very similar.

"Pakistan's support to the US against Iran is logical as Iran did not hesitate to hand over all evidence of Pakistan helping Iran in developing nuclear technology to the international agency [International Atomic Energy Agency]," commented one analyst.

During the exercises, the troops got to know different localities, residential areas, roads and exit points of the city, including railway and bus stations and the airport. For the exercises, the troops were provided with detailed maps of Karachi, including important buildings. The exercises, which started several weeks ago, ended on January 17, highly informed sources revealed to Asia Times Online. The troops were barracked at Malir Cant, the cantonment area of the Pakistan army adjacent to Karachi airport.
On January 11, the troops conducted anti-hijacking exercises on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft at an isolated yard several kilometers from the main terminal and runway, although they were provided with detailed maps of the airport.

While confirming the exercises, a spokesman of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Colonel Tahir Idrees Malik, said they were anti-terrorist drills. He said it was an honor for Pakistan to be able to give training "to these friendly countries". When asked why Karachi had been chosen, and why the troops did not do the drills in their own countries, he said exercises always took place where action was expected.

He refused to mention the names of the countries participating in the exercises, and repeatedly said that they were simply meant as preparation for anti-terrorist activities. He also confirmed the anti-hijacking exercises took place on a A-300 PIA aircraft, saying they were part of a long program for troops which included railway and bus stations. Any crowded place could be a target for terrorists, Idrees said.

This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that armed forces, including the Pakistan army, have been known to stage exercises in city areas. Traditionally, they exercise in areas resembling the borders, including deserts and mountains, to prepare for assaults from forces such as India's. Pakistan has fought three wars with India.

Asia Times Online sources maintain that for practical reasons it is difficult to accept the ISPR official's statement that the drills were meant for anti-terror activity in Karachi or in Pakistan. Karachi has been an exit point for Arab-Afghans to their countries of origin in the past, and almost all of the top al-Qaeda operators arrested were captured in or around Karachi, and their network effectively destroyed. Now, official handouts from the government of Pakistan or the US maintain that other al-Qaeda figures are likely to be moving around the Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas, while others have been tracked to the northern Punjab or North West Frontier Province.

Learn this by heart, and you will be an expert at the next cocktail party:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GA19Df06.html
Asia Times Online
Jan 19, 2005

New target for Pakistan's militants
By Ramtanu Maitra

Pakistan's Sunni militants, who were instrumental in bringing together the Afghan Taliban and Arab al-Qaeda organizations, have found fresh fodder in Pakistan. The militants' new target is the Ismailis, the followers of the Aga Khan.

In Pakistan's Northern Territories, which border China and Afghanistan and include a part of the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir, Sunni militants shot and killed an Ismaili leader, Agha Ziauddin, on January 8. Ziauddin's killing, in Gilgit, sparked riots that left at least 15 dead. In December, two Sunni militants were arrested in connection with the killing of two employees of an Aga Khan aid agency in the remote northern town of Chitral bordering Afghanistan that same month.

The Ismailis are a branch of the Shi'ite Muslim sect that can be found in large numbers in Pakistan's Northern Territories, as well as in nearby Tajikistan's Pamir plateau. About 350,000 Ismailis live in Tajikistan and most of them reside in the Pamirs in the Gorno-Badkashan region of the country. In adjoining China's Xinjiang region, a large number of Ismailis live in virtual isolation from the Aga Khan-run international community.

Pakistan's Sunni militants, schooled in an orthodox Deobandi school of Islamic teaching, work hand-in-glove with the Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia. In fact, the political arm of the Sunni militants in Pakistan, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JII) and its student wing Islamic Jamiat Tulaba (IJT), are financed generously from Saudi Arabia. The JIl have been infiltrating the Pakistani military in large numbers since the 1980s, and played a very important role in bringing the Taliban militants to power in Afghanistan in 1996.

The killing of the Ismailis - who along with the Ahmadiyyas and Shi'ites are contemptuously considered heretics by orthodox Sunnis - was not carried out by JII cadres, but by any one of a number of Sunni terrorist groups, such as the Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Lashkar-e-Toiba or the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, among others. All of these groups function freely within Pakistan, despite bans "imposed" on them years ago by Islamabad.

Observers point out that the Northern Territory is strategically important; to the north is China, Tajikistan in its northwest, Afghanistan in the west and the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir is in the east. For strategic reasons, since the 1980s, Islamabad has allowed a large number of Sunnis and Wahhabi Maulvis to settle in the area, causing more distress to the locals. Noteworthy is that while the latest round of killings were going on, President General Pervez Musharraf did no more than helplessly declare a curfew in Skardu and Gilgit. No attempt was made to bring the killers to justice.

There are a number of reasons for Islamabad's posture of apparent helplessness. To begin with, it is clear that Musharraf appreciates the fact that one who lives in a glass house must not throw stones. Islamabad now resembles something between a glass house and a bunker. Too many disgruntled militants with connections to the all-powerful military are seeking revenge, and without a doubt Musharraf is also a target himself.

But it should not really be surprising to Islamabad that the Ismailis are now facing the Sunni militants' guns. Whether the events were planned is a moot question, but certain actions Islamabad has taken to please Washington are certainly a factor in directing the wrath of the Sunnis against the Ismailis.

The American prod
Since the1980s, Pakistan's education ministry has depended solely on the tuition-free madrassa system of religious education, funded by Saudi Arabia and other orthodox Sunnis, to see a large number of poor Pakistani children get to school. The theocratic education of Pakistan's orthodox madrassas was tailored to produce the leaders of the Taliban movement. The madrassas also produced the Sunni militants and others who protected the anti-American Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. But after the events of September 11, 2001, Washington had a great awakening: suddenly the madrassa system was perceived as pure evil that produces anti-American, Islamic militants.

After promoting militant orthodox Islam in the 1980s, with the help of Saudi Arabia, to expedite disintegration of the former Soviet Union and save the "free world", Washington set about to "fix" Pakistan's education system. Musharraf, boxed in from both sides, did not have many choices. Some claim that his will to survive and his confidence that he would be able to work around desperate Americans to ensure his political and physical survival persuaded him to give a green signal to the Americans, and he agreed to stop proliferation of Islamic madrassas. Washington, of course, was willing to pay for some of the costs. Musharraf had no intention of making any wholesale changes, and, in fact, last week permission was given to open new madrassas in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

Goaded by Washington, Musharraf last year approved the establishment of the Aga Khan Education Board in Pakistan. In May 2004, Prince Karim Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili community, called on Musharraf at the Aiwan-i-Sadr (President House) in Islamabad. During this meeting, reports indicate the Pakistani president expressed his appreciation for the various philanthropic and development projects undertaken in Pakistan by the Aga Khan Foundation. He also praised the keen personal interest of Prince Karim Aga Khan in health, education and other welfare projects in the social sector.

A new economic and educational monopoly?
The prince and Musharraf discussed Pakistan's poverty. Prince Karim Aga Khan described First MicroFinance Bank Ltd, an effort of the Aga Khan Development Network to address the root causes of poverty. The bank's US$9 million capital is subscribed by the Aga Khan Rural Support Program and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, and discussions regarding the involvement of the International Finance Corporation are at an advanced stage. "We are also actively reviewing the possibilities of initiating microfinance programs in Afghanistan, where we have begun discussions with international development agencies for potential partnerships," the Ismaili leader told Musharraf.

Sunni militants have also noted that recently, through an open and transparent process, the Aga Khan group secured management control of Habib Bank Limited, one of the premier financial institutions of Pakistan. The Aga Khan also expressed deep interest in developing tourism in Pakistan's Northern Territory. Citing the romance of the Silk Road and reflections of Gandhara art and crafts of the tribal areas, the Aga Khan said these were "of considerable fascination and originality to foreigners, both distant and near".

One hardly needed to read between the lines to appreciate the fact that the Aga Khan and Musharraf were discussing a virtual economic monopoly, for good or bad, for the Ismailis in Northern Territory, where they have a significant presence. The Aga Khan is seemingly interested in seeing his flock prosper.

But what has particularly antagonized the Sunni militants are Musharraf's steps to introduce "secular" education through the Ismailis under pressure from the US. It is widely known that Prince Karim Aga Khan, who counts European nobility among his school mates, is as Westernized as they come. He finished his schooling at Harvard, and his Aga Khan Foundation has since been commended by the Harvard Review Committee for providing progressive education. USAID makes available some funds to the foundation, and is full of praise for its education system.

Allergic to "secular" education
At a well-attended public meeting in Karachi last May, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, acting head of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a coalition of six orthodox Islamic political groups with a very strong presence in Balochistan and the NWFP, and Amir of Jel, stated that Pakistan's rulers "had given total authority to the Aga Khan Foundation for establishing a new education system in the country". According to Dawn, the MMA chief said that the same task was assigned to the Qadiani community (also known as Ahmadiyyas), but the people of Pakistan launched a movement against them and finally they failed in their plans.

Addressing himself to the Aga Khan Foundation and the Ismaili community generally, Ahmed added that the "people would also launch a movement against them if they continued to impose a secular education system in Pakistan". On December 3, 2004, the provincial chapter of Tanzeem-i-Isatiza Pakistan, another orthodox Sunni outfit, issued threats against the Ismailis. Tanzeem's provincial chief, Khairullah Hawari, warned the Musharraf government to end the affiliation of schools and colleges with the Aga Khan Board, and threatened to march toward Islamabad if the demand was not met.

Jamaat's student wing, the IJT, had also opposed the establishment of the Aga Khan Board to cater to O- and A-level students in Pakistan. "We don't think it's a wise decision. Nothing should be done against the ideological boundaries of the country," observed participants of an IJT-arranged study circle last May.

Dangerous subtleties
Clearly the orthodox Sunnis will not tolerate even the half-hearted efforts of Musharraf, under pressure from the US, to reform Pakistan's woefully backward education system.

To fully appreciate this one must realize that religious orthodoxy was introduced to modern Pakistan in the first place by a pro-American military leader, and not by the mullahs. The process began under General Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s, and as a result enjoys a very solid base within Pakistan's military.

At present the Ismailis may have a temporary "godfather" in the form of Musharraf. But the killings in Skardu and Gilgit, and Islamabad's nod to the MMA to start new madrassas in NWFP, indicate that the Ismailis cannot really trust the godfather.

Musharraf is fully aware that Pakistan's madrassas are breeding grounds for jihadi terrorists, and his inability or unwillingness to reform the madrassa system is the most obvious evidence of his determination to keep one foot in the Islamic militancy camp. Musharraf knows that even if a few Ismailis get killed and the AKF is eventually given the proverbial go-by, Washington will not abandon him because he is the most "secular" of all the Pakistani leaders.

The Ismailis community would do well to understand these subtleties to ensure their own survival.

...at the cocktail party you can add: The religious leader Aga Ziauddin, who was killed in Gilgit and whose killing led to riots, was not an Ismaili. He was a very well-known Twelver Shi'a religious leader...

"at the cocktail party you can add: The religious leader Aga Ziauddin, who was killed in Gilgit and whose killing led to riots, was not an Ismaili. He was a very well-known Twelver Shi'a religious leader"

You really need a better "pick up line" than that, AdmSmith! How about trying: "Hey honey, want me to show you a really fun way to burn up 5,000 calories?!"

--Boot

Night train services halted in Balochistan

By Amanullah Kasi

QUETTA, Jan 25: The Railways authorities have stopped night-time train services across the Balochistan province after repeated attacks by the Balochistan Liberation Army.

Official sources told Dawn on Tuesday that the decision came after five people were wounded on Monday night when a powerful bomb blew up a section of the rail track near Sibi, about 100 km south east of Quetta.

The sources said the damaged track had been repaired and services to and from Quetta resumed. "We have changed the timings of the trains and decided they will not run after sunset," the sources said. "It was done because of security reasons."

http://www.dawn.com/2005/01/26/top6.htm

BLA is probably getting funding from Iran. This will escalate the coming weeks as Iran is trying to make as much trouble as possible in Pakistan to threaten them not to participate in a move against Tehran. Naturally, this will backfire.

"Naturally, this will backfire."

Once again, the mullahs in Tehran "misunderestimate" Bush's resovle and determination.

--Boot Hill

Spectre of civil war looms in Balochistan:-
http://www.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=62779&cat=Asia
Washington January 27, 2005 9:58:03 AM IST

Washington, Jan 25 : The recent violence in Pakistan's Balochistan province that disrupted gas supplies to half the country underscores the danger of an explosive civil war, according to a media report.

Writing on the South Asia Tribune website, columnist Ahmed Rashid notes that President Pervez Musharraf, who faces increasing political isolation, is dealing with a rebellion by fundamentalist Pashtun tribesmen allied to Al Qaeda in the northwest, and a bloody civil war between Shias and Sunnis in Gilgit in the far north.

The two conflicts have claimed hundreds of lives, but a war in Balochistan would be more deadly for the government, he says.

"It could create the spark for more widespread unrest among smaller groups who are all opposed to what they see as the Punjabi-dominated army and who feel left out of the military-run political system," writes Rashid.

According to the writer, any conflict in Balochistan would involve Iran and Afghanistan, which have substantial Baloch populations.

"It could also derail the India-Pakistan peace process as Islamabad has accused Delhi of funding and arming the Baloch insurgents - a charge India denies," he says.

Rashid says over the past five years, Musharraf has sidelined smaller nationalist parties in the provinces in favour of an alliance with the mullahs.

Nationalist parties had shared power with the centre in the 1990s during Pakistan's "decade of failed democracy".

On Jan 11, Bugti tribesmen, encouraged by their chief Sardar Akbar Bugti, and the secretive nationalist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) attacked Pakistan's largest gas producing plant at Sui after local police accused an army captain of raping a female doctor working there.

Sui is in the heart of the Bugti tribal area - a land of dry, barren mountains and desert.

At the end of a five-day battle, in which the tribesmen stormed the gas company compound, eight people, including three soldiers, were killed and 35 people wounded. The army rushed thousands of troops and paramilitary forces to Sui.

The rebels were heavily armed, well-trained and organised and used sophisticated satellite telephones. They fired 430 rockets and 60 mortar rounds at the Sui plant, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao said.

"President Musharraf, a former commando, then threw fuel on the fire, saying: 'Don't push us. It isn't the 1970s when you can hit and run and hide in the mountains. This time you won't even know what hit you.'"

His comments and the fact that the army captain accused of rape has still not been arrested, infuriated the tribesmen and opposition politicians, who warned the army not to create "another Bangladesh" - a reference to the 1971 civil war that saw East Pakistan ceding from West Pakistan and becoming a new nation.

"In case of military operations, the Baloch people will fight a decisive battle this time... till the last drop of their blood," warned Sardar Ataullah Mengal, chief of the Mengal tribe that is allied to the Bugti.

Baloch nationalists demanding greater political rights, autonomy and control over their natural resources have led four insurgencies - in 1948, 1958-59, 1962-63 and 1973-77 - that were brutally suppressed by the army.

Now a fifth is under way and this time the insurgents are demanding independence, Rashid writes, noting that for the past two years, hit-and-run raids against the army have occurred across the province.

Last May three Chinese engineers were killed in the port town of Gwadar by a roadside bomb, an attack admitted by the BLA.

"The danger is that the present conflict has for the first time united educated nationalists with the tribesmen.

"The Sui incident led to the most powerful Baloch fighting tribes - the Mengals, Mazaris and Marris - uniting and rushing to aid their beleaguered Bugti brothers," Rashid writes.