 |
“I would like to assure you that this war is not against Mehsud tribe but to rid you of those cruel terrorists who have captured you area,” Kayani wrote. |
ISLAMABAD – With his forces already meeting fierce resistance from Taliban militants, army chief General Ashfaq Kayani reached out to the powerful Mehsud tribe to make clear the offensive is not directed at the tribe, but few bad apples who happen to be Mehsuds.
“I admit that all our all tribes, including Mehsud tribe, have always been loyal to Pakistan and have worked for its defense voluntarily and without any financial benefits,” Kayani said in an open letter published in the Urdu and Puhsto languages.
“I would like to assure you that this war is not against Mehsud tribe but to rid you of those cruel terrorists who have captured you area.
“Therefore, the targets of this operation are Uzbeks, terrorists, foreign elements and local terrorists respectively.”
Troops and Taliban fighters were locked in fierce clashes Tuesday in the army’s toughest military test yet in its ground assault in South Waziristan, part of a lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border.
Nearly 30,000 troops are involved in the three-pronged push against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group of about 10,000 to 12,000 trained militants, mostly Mehsuds.
“I am sure that Mehsud tribe will stands alongside the armed forces in this operation so that the green flag of Pakistan will again be hoisted in their areas,” Kayani wrote.
Thousands of copies of the letter were dropped from helicopters in the war-hacked areas of South Waziristan and distributed among the nearly 120,000 people displaced in adjoining districts.
South Waziristan is basically inhabited by three main tribes, the most powerful and biggest of them is Mehsud, which makes up 60 percent of the total population.
Hearts & Minds
|
| “It seems as if the army has recognized that it has to win the hearts and minds of common Mehsuds to win this war,” Ali told IOL. |
Experts describe the letter as a move to win the hearts and minds of common Mehsuds and single out TTP militants, led by Hakimullah Mehsud.
“This is a significant move,” Abdul Khalique Ali, a Karachi-based security and political analyst, told IslamOnline.net.
“It seems as if the army has recognized that it has to win the hearts and minds of common Mehsuds to win this war.”
Salim Safi, a Peshawar-based security analyst, agrees.
“The government has to win the hearts and minds of Mehsuds if it wants to win the war,” he told IOL.
"If Mehsud tribe disassociates itself from Taliban, the security forces will win this war, but if not, then they should get ready for a long battle keeping in mind the history of wars in this region.”
He believes the army letter is a bid to remove the misunderstandings and mistrust between elders of the Mehsud tribe and the government forces.
"Mistrust has been widened between the two sides, mostly because of the collateral damage and some other government actions in recent past,” he contends.
“This forced tribal elders to stay aside. The government has to consult and take them into confidence, if it wants victory.”
Doubts
|
| “This kind of moves will be of no use until and unless there is some cogent steps to heel up the wounds of Mehsud tribe,” Senator Shah told IOL. |
Ali, the Karachi-based security analyst, links the success of the army’s move to the military offensive’s “collateral” damage.
“Unfortunately, in previous operations, the collateral damage helped Taliban both directly and indirectly,” he recalled.
“It added more and more youths to their folder. And if it happens again, then there will be no use of this kind of move and assurances because action speaks louder than words.”
Safi, the Peshawar-based experts, believes the letter alone could not do much.
“Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. They must be cared of properly and with dignity,” he asserted.
“If the government fails to do that, which unfortunately had been the case in the past, the problem will remain.”
The UN estimates that more than 112,000 people have fled their homes in South Waziristan.
Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said Monday the government was monitoring the displaced at checkpoints set up on exit and entry points of South Waziristan.
He added that cash assistance of 5,000 rupees (60 dollars) would also be given to each displaced family every month as non-food support.
“Tribesmen are very sensitive people by nature,” notes Ali, the analyst.
“If they are treated with respect by the government, it will have a clear edge over Taliban."
But he doubts this is the case and warns that the government’s indifferent attitude may turn the wind in Taliban’s favor.
“I don’t see any change in the government's attitude vis-a-vis displaced people. Everything is in line with the past. In this situation, I am skeptical about any positive impact of this letter."
Worthless
Senator Saleh Shah, a member of the federal Senate and a tribal elder of the Mehsud tribe, believes General Kayani letter is worthless.
“This kind of moves will be of no use until and unless there is some cogent steps to heel up the wounds of Mehsud tribe,” he told IOL.
He accused the government for unleashing a reign terror against the Mehsud tribesmen.
“Our hearts are bleeding. Our tribesmen have been besieged for last four-five months. Their businesses have been destroyed, their youths are being killed extrajudicially and they are not being treated even as human being,” argued an emotional Shah.
“In this situation, which Mehsud will pay attention to this letter?”
Mehsud tribal elders refused to meet the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) governor, who invited them for talks during his visit to Tank, an adjoining district of South Waziristan, on Tuesday, in protest against “indiscriminate bombing of Mehsud areas”.
Senator Shah insisted that the government must work to regain the people’s confidence.
“First of all, we must be compensated for our lost lives, businesses and properties,” he stressed.
“Then we will think about the letter.”
|
