The frontier is now changing, pursuel of terrorists is highest priority, preparations are being made to maunch a major drive inside the remotest of areas- Expressing a lack of confidence in the jirga and the lashkar, NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah on Friday hinted at new measures to deal with foreigners in South Waziristan Agency, saying the government had honoured all its promises but Wazir tribesmen failed to do so.
“We stand where we were six months ago,” said the governor, who looked disappointed by the lashkar’s slow progress in hunting down foreigners.
Addressing a grand jirga in Wana, Mr Shah said that the government had shown patience and large-heartedness but this had not yielded positive results. “We cannot allow the situation to continue,” he said, adding the government’s patience should not be regarded as weakness. The governor made it clear that the foreigners would have to enrol with the authorities if they wanted to live in the tribal areas. “The foreigners will have to provide their identification and this is a universally accepted rule to live in a foreign country,” he said.
“You people, the tribal elders, should suggest ways to solve the problem,” said Mr Shah, who seemed running out of ideas to resolve the crisis.
Lamenting what he called South Waziristan Agency’s link to terrorist acts in the country, he said: “Terrorists are against Pakistan and Islam and are playing into the enemy’s hands.”
A tribal elder, reacting to the governor’s criticism of the lashkar’s failure to register foreigners admitted that his criticism was justified to some extent but said he could not comment more because the FCR rules bound him not to speak more.
We have lost a great deal of time and cannot afford more leniency. We care for you and we hope the tribal people will help avoid destruction and anarchy in Waziristan,” the governor added.
Meanwhile, Federally Administered Tribal Areas security chief Brig (r) Mehmood Shah has acknowledged that the controversial Shakai deal between the government and Nek Muhammad, former Taliban commander who fought pitched battles with the Army in March and was pardoned on April 24 after he surrendered to the authorities, does not exist any more.
In an interview with Daily Times early this week, Brig (r) Shah described the deal as “unambiguous” and blamed foreign militants for its “short life.”
Asked if the Shakai deal was valid after the lashkar was formed to press foreigners to register, he said: “It does appear ‘no’. These people have misread the government’s resolve to the rid the area of foreigners.”
Asked if the deal was signed in a hurry because the government did not involve local guarantors, he said the deal became possible after the two MMA MNAs sent the authorities a message that they could help them reach a settlement with the wanted men. “Although the two MNAs tried their best, they failed to realise the difficulties ahead. We told them to involve maliks (tribal chieftains) as well, but they ignored our request. Therefore, it will be unfair to blame the authorities for not involving local guarantors in the whole process,” he added.
Asked if he could explain the third clause on foreigners’ registration, Brig Shah said the third clause allowed foreigners to live honourably but within the parameters of Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah’s December 23 address in Wana. He said the government was very clear about the third clause of the deal. “All details have been worked out and Nek is aware of them. So, there is no ambiguity regarding the deal’s third clause,” he said.
Asked if he could call the deal a success, he said: “We have now got more intelligence about Nek’s links with foreigners. What we achieved from the deal is that people now understand our viewpoint and are convinced that the government was justified in its action against foreigners. One can see the opposition to military operations is coming down. Now we know where the foreigners are hiding in Waziristan. We know more about their communication system. We stand more educated on this issue now.”
On whether the lashkar could deliver what the government wanted, Brig Shah said the lahskar cold do the job if it went in the right direction but feared it was possible that the lashkar might not go in the right direction.
Brig Shah denied suggestions the deal had destabilised the political system in Waziristan or for that reason in the tribal belt. “This is not right. We did share some information with the chief administrator of South Waziristan Agency when negotiations were taking place for a deal with Nek. We did not keep the political administration out of the talks with the Nek-led group. We also shared information with the administration about the possible deal with Nek,” he said. |
