A jirga of the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe on Sunday decided to form a 4000-man lashkar to fight foreign militants in South Waziristan if they did not agree to register with the authorities.
| "Yeah! We're gonna getchoo!" |
Meanwhile, two Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) parliamentarians were still engaged in talks with the authorities to find a peaceful solution. âWe will take on Nek Muhammad as well if he continues to support foreigners,â Malik Janan from the Kakakhel tribe told Daily Times on the phone from Wana, grimacing ferociously. The lashkar will not move unless a 40-member committee that is engaged in talks gives its approval. âWe will request the foreigners to register with the government. If they refuse to do so, we will ask them to leave Waziristan,â he said.
| "Beg yer pardon, but would you mind vacating this end of Pakland? Thanks awfully!" |
Brig (r) Mehmood Shah, FATA security chief, said that the lashkar could begin an operation from Monday. âIf they do not register themselves and refuse to leave Waziristan, the lashkar will take action against them,â Janan said, frightening a child with his demeanor. He said the lashkar would not let anyone use Pakistanâs soil against a third country. âWe will defend our countryâs sovereignty,â he added, rolling his eyes. Nekâs absence from Sundayâs jirga indicated that the issue of foreign militantsâ registration is unlikely to be resolved peacefully.
| I have my doubts it's ever going to be resolved at all. Talk, talk, talk, make faces, ride around in pickup trucks... That's about the extent of it. |
âHe (Nek) did not show up at the jirga,â Janan and tribal elders said. âWhat the government wants is unlikely to happen,â was the defiant message from one of Nekâs aides. âThere has to be a give-and-take policy,â he added.
| "Yeah! Youse guys give, us guys takes!" |
The Ahmedzai jirga announced stern measures against those who opposed registration. âThe houses of local residents sheltering foreigners will be demolished and offenders will be fined Rs 1 million,â the jirga said. The jirga also recommended 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and forced exile for tribesmen found sheltering foreign militants. Janan said the 40-member committee would meet on Monday in Wana to work out its strategy. But another tribal elder was not optimistic that the lashkar would succeed in its mission. âThe administration will point out where a foreigner is and then the lashkar will move in. This will give the foreigner time to relocate because Al Qaedaâs intelligence network in Waziristan is better than the administrationâs,â said the tribesman who requested not to be named. âIt all depends on how strong Chief Administrator Asmatullah Gandapur is and how much the Army is backing him to deal with the situation politically,â said the tribal elder. |