Facing a tough resistance from pro-Taliban
militants in restive South Waziristan and its adjoining areas, a
desperate government is creating a counter local militia, a copycat of
the US strategy in war torn Iraq.
At a time army gunships are pounding the hideouts
of militants loyal to Baitullah Mehsud, the chief of the powerful
Mehsud tribe and head of the local Taliban, government agencies are
trying to bring anti- Mehsud militants into fold under pro-government
Taliban commander Mullah Nazir.
"The government agencies are approaching the
tribesmen belonging to Ahmedzai Wazir tribe to rise against Baitullah
Mehsud," intelligence sources told IslamOnline.net.
Mehsud is the biggest tribe in South Waziristan
with 60 percent of the 700,000 population while the rival Ahmedzai
Wazir tribe makes up 35 percent.
Though Wazirs number almost have Mehsuds, they are
the richest tribe in the area controlling about 70 percent of local
businesses, particularly the supply of medicines.
Wana, the capital of South Waziristan and hub of
medicine supply to the entire tribal belt region and northeastern
Afghanistan, is dominated by Wazirs.
Wazirs and Mehsuds have always been rivals but they
came at loggerheads in March 2007 when Wazirs led by Mullah Nazir rose
against foreign militants, mostly from central Asian origin, and
ousted them from Wana.
The militants became persona non grata after
getting involved in local feuds, killing many tribal elders.
After their ouster from Wana, almost half of them
shifted to North Waziristan while the others took shelter in
Mehsud-dominated areas of South Waziristan.
Tensions further escalated when the militants
attacked and seized vehicles of Wazirs travelling on Wana-Tank road
giving an opportunity to the government to bring the tribesmen against
each other.
Local tribesmen say the army had supported
pro-government Wazirs to oust foreign militants from the area.
Close to 200 people have been killed in South
Waziristan in the first weeks of January in clashes between security
forces and fighters loyal to Baitullah Mehsud.
Pakistan has deployed about 100,000 troops in the
tribal region, but results have been patchy.
Locals resent the presence of largely
ethnic-Punjabi soldiers, the first such deployment since the 1947
independence from India.
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Security forces block the road to South Waziristan.
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But defense and security analysts believe the new
strategy may prove fatal for the South Asian Muslim country.
"This is an act of desperation,"
Rahimullah Yusufzai, a Peshawar-based senior analyst, told
IslamOnline.net.
"It shows that the government is running with
very limited options, and taking desperate attempts," he added.
"It could be a temporary solution, but in long
term, it will create a mess."
The defense and security analyst compared the new
drive to the American strategy in Iraq.
"The government is toeing US strategy which it
adopted in Anbar province to defeat Al-Qaeda," he said.
Some Sunni Arab tribes have become a crucial ally
of the US in its recent successes in the country by leading the fight
against Al-Qaeda.
They formed the Awakening movement, known in Arabic
as al-Sahwah, which has nearly 80,000 fighters.
Part of the force is paid for by the Americans.
Ordinary fighters are believed to receive $350 (£175) a month and
officers $1,200, but some receive no salary.
The US calls the Awakening movement groups
"Concerned Citizens" and has in fact handed over Sunni areas
to them.
"There are little chances that this strategy
will work here," maintained Yusufzai.
"Let's suppose, if pro-government Taliban
manage to wipe out the anti-government Taliban, then how will the
government take back weapons from their own Taliban?"
He noted that there is no difference between Mullah
Nazir and Baitullah Mehsud as far as ideology is concerned.
"The only difference between them is that they
are from rival tribes, and in Pushtun society, tribal affinities are
very important. Otherwise, both follow the same ideology," added
Yusufzai.
"Mullah Nazir has told us many times that his
leader is Mullah Omer and the war against US troops in Afghanistan is
in line with injunctions of Islam," recalled the analyst.
Yusufzai suspects the government would be able to
persuade him to lay down arms and stop militancy.
"He will appear as a bigger monster for the
government as he is equally sympathetic to Taliban. No doubt, he is
receiving money and weapons from the government, but it seems to me
that even if he manages to wipe out anti-government Taliban, he will
not surrender the arms."
Mullah Nazir survived an assassination attempt a
few months back when his convoy was attacked by anti-government
Taliban.
Wrong Tactic
Mohmind Khan, a local tribal lord, says the
government's wrong and unrealistic policies are equally responsible
for a threatening increase in militancy in the tribal belt.
"The government is not letting us play our due
role to contain the growing militancy," he told IOL.
"If Baitullah Mehsud or any other militant
group do anything against the security forces, they instead of taking
action against the perpetrators, penalize the tribal lords blaming
them for not controlling the militants belonging to their respective
tribes," he noted.
"But when they want to negotiate with the
militants, they simply corner us and do not even inform us about
that."
Pakistan's 700-kilometer tribal belt is still being
governed under a British law under which the entire tribe is held
responsible for any act of terrorism or violence committed by an
individual or a group belonging to that tribe.
One article in the law say that if a bomb explodes
somewhere, then the nearest house located will be razed in line with
the law of combined responsibility.
"How ironic it is that when my tribesman does
anything wrong with you, I am held responsible for that. I am fined,
my business is closed down, and my privileges are slashed, but when
you negotiate with him to settle down the issue, you do not even
inform me," fumed Khan.
"We have been completely cornered. If the
governments let us act freely and resolve things as per tribal laws,
things will turn out to be much better."
The local tribal lord doesn't think that a
diamond-cuts-diamond policy will work to resolve the crisis.
"It's like that you want to wipe out terrorism
through terrorism. If today, we are ruled by Baitullah Mehsud, then
tomorrow we will be ruled by Mullah Nazir because he will have more
weapons then Mehsud."
