| Good. It couldn't happen to a more deserving group. |
| The latter due to those American drones, right? |
"Some of the faceless myrmidons voluntarily withdraw from their organizations because they can't tolerate hardships that one suffers by joining cut-thoat groups," Brig. Saad Mohammad, former Pak defence attaché in Kabul, told Dawn.
In some instances, faceless myrmidons withdraw because they get tired of leading a life as a runaway. "Deep-rooted fears infect them as they lead the life of a runaway, making some to give up the militancy," said Mr Saad.
A recent case in point is that of Ilyas Shinwari, a Khyber Agency
-based Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain commander who surrendered on May 31, 21012.An official of the Landi Kotal sub-division told Dawn that Shinwari surrendered out of fear of arrest. "His brother and father --
also associated with beturbanned goons -- were incarcerated
Drop the rosco and step away witcher hands up!
some time back, making him vulnerable," said the official.
A local tribal jirga (council of elders) negotiated his surrender, said the official.
Shinwari was wanted by the Khyber Agency administration in several cases of attacks on oil tankers that his men destroyed in the area.
Besides, he was alleged to be a key financier of Abdullah Aezam Brigade, a cut-thoat outfit. He was also involved in kidnapping for ransom cases.
In 2008, Haji Abdul Maalik, a TTP local commander in Adaizai tribal area, near Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, abandoned militancy after police incarcerated
Drop the rosco and step away witcher hands up!
him in a crackdown.
"After his (Maalik's) arrest, we negotiated a deal with him convincing him to secure his freedom in exchange for giving up militancy," said Dilawar Khan, head of a strong Aman Lashkar (peace force).
Maalik and his son, who had also been incarcerated
Drop the rosco and step away witcher hands up!
, chose freedom, said Khan. Later, they joined the Aman Lashkar and fought against Taliban.
"Maalik was made Aman Lashkar head, causing severe blow to the Taliban," Dilawar told Dawn. In a reprisal suicide kaboom, Taliban assassinated Maalik in 2009 near Peshawar.
About the cut-thoats' reasons for withdrawal, Brig Saad said some of them gave up militancy because they didn't have that character in their personality. "They feel guilty, their conscience does not allow them to continue, making them to return to their normal life," said Saad, a security expert.
The weakening position of terrorist groups, according to Saad, also at time plays a role in drifting away the cut-thoats. "Seldom anybody stays on a sinking boat," he said, adding "it's in the tribal society's psyche."
"The beturbanned goons leave their groups when they see that they are losing.
Militant groups, said the ex-military officer, acted like military units as far as their discipline was concerned. They worked as closely knitted units and are governed by discipline, he said.
"If a cut-thoat is not happy about any particular issue or has a disputes with his colleagues, it undermines the organization's unity," said Saad, adding "in many instances the disputes go deeper because of weaknesses on the leader's part, making the group members to run away."
Leadership weaknesses and internal disputes have left several al-Qaeda associated groups divided, making the faceless myrmidons to vanish rendering the groups ineffective.
"One third of the 130 cut-thoat groups that exist in Federally Administered Tribal Areas have become non-entities," Ashraf Ali, director, Fata Research Centre, an Islamabad-based think tank, told Dawn.
Internal disputes, he added, caused dents to several TTP groups in Fata. "Only the major groups survive, small outfits become non-entities as the disillusioned faceless myrmidons abandon militancy."
In Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central
...Smallest of the agencies in FATA. The Agency administration is located in Khar. Bajaur is inhabited almost exclusively by Tarkani Pashtuns, which are divided into multiple bickering subtribes. Its 52 km border border with Afghanistan's Kunar Province makes it of strategic importance to Pakistain's strategic depth...
, cut-thoat commander Wali-ur-Rehman's entire group surrendered (some time back) after negotiating a peace deal with the local authorities, according to Mr Ali.
Similarly, TTP's Mohmand
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
Agency chapter became non-existent after its chief Abdul Wali alias Umer Khalid bravely ran away after most of his group members deserted him due to a military crackdown against them in 2008-09, he said.
In
Orakzai Agency... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers...
, he added, infighting between Nabi Mullah and Mullah Toofan, two rival commanders, had eventually benefited the government.
"In several instances, infighting rendered the cut-thoat groups weakened, forcing them to enter into negotiations with the authorities," said Mr Ali.
He said that Taliban foot soldiers usually got dejected once their leaders entered into negotiations with the authorities.
"The more committed among the faceless myrmidons who join cut-thoat organizations to fight against foreign troops or those with a criminal background stick around despite internal disputes," said Mr Ali.