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| Pakistani Paramilitary Forces Deploy Ahead of Army Into Waziristan |
| 2004-02-23 |
| Pakistan boosted operations in a lawless border region where Osama bin Laden may be hiding, preparing for a military campaign to capture Taliban and al-Qaida suspects who have taken shelter among local tribes, military officials said Sunday. Paramilitary forces stepped up patrols in the rugged and historically autonomous regions, guarding key roads and taking positions in sandbagged bunkers in this important town in tribal South Waziristan, near the border with Afghanistan.... Officials did not say when the operation would begin. "Initially we will use paramilitary troops (in the operation), but if needed we may call in army troops and helicopters," said Mohammed Azam Khan, a local government official. The operation will be the fourth of its kind since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, Pakistani security sources said. During the most recent one in January, suspected al-Qaida financier Ahmad Said al-Kadr was killed along with seven other suspects. .... Pakistani sources said their operation will center on suspected Taliban and al-Qaida fighters who authorities believe have married Pakistani women and are living in the tribal areas. Authorities have spent weeks negotiating with local tribal leaders and are promising that those who surrender and lay down their weapons will not be prosecuted... Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, Pakistan’s chief army spokesman insisted that any operation conducted in Pakistan would involve only Pakistanis — and no U.S. forces. Still, the beefed-up Pakistani army patrols that became visible Sunday angered local residents.... Though others rejected the notion that foreign terror suspects were hiding in their area, they said the military campaign could eliminate the perception their region was a haven for terrorists. .... |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |