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| India-Pakistan |
| Pak faces threat of civil war in tribal areas |
| 2002-05-05 |
| Despite having secured about 98 per cent of votes in the April 30 referendum, President Pervez Musharraf is faced with the possibility of a civil war, especially in the tribal areas along the Afghan border, as he has created "a great mess" in this region, according to a Pakistani newspaper report. Sounds like the religious parties are fomenting a little revolution. Is it for real, or a threat? My guess would be that's it's real. They know by now that they can't grab power in all of Pakland; there are too many people who know how to read and write. But the mullahs already have their little fiefdom going in the NWFP, and if they could tear it away they'd be halfway to Greater Pashtunistan. "It would be wrong if somebody believes that the war in the tribal areas would remain confined to the mountains. This tribal war is going to spread for sure and it may even engulf cities like Islamabad and Lahore what to talk about Quetta and Peshawar where there is already a great tribal influence," The Balochistan Post said in a hard-hitting article. Do Fazl and Qazi and Sami think they have the strength to flex the Pashtun muscle? they probably think they can tear off the NWFP, but if they can get the rest of the country that'd be even better from their standpoint: Pashtuns in charge of the whole country, including the dissolute Punjabis. "It is not all. Our miseries will multiply a thousand times when our armed forces would face a split," it said, adding that the Army and Frontier Corps were made up of many tribes "whose villages are going to become a battlefield". In that case, don't revolt. It's a dumb idea, the sort of thing a megalomaniac might think up... Oh. That's who we're talking about, isn't it? Stating that the Indian military build-up on Pakistan's eastern borders could also not be ignored, the report said it would be "unwise" to presume that Army and paramilitary personnel belonging to Mehsud, Yousoufzai, Afridi or Wazir tribes "would continue to obey the orders of the bankrupt Chief of Army Staff and would fight against their own brothers." Beating them with the club of the Indian threat. If there were an actual war with India, they'd probably remain loyal out of fear of seeing the Indos gobble up the greater part of the country. But they know the threat's not serious... The newspaper said disobedience by these tribal personnel "would mean a civil war that is easier for the General to start, but it is going to be very difficult for the nation to recover from." Sounds like a threat, all right... Stating that a civil war "seems to be a target of Gen Musharraf", the article said "he has not only created a highly explosive situation in the tribal areas ... but also ripped Karachi of peace by releasing 130 convicted terrorists from the jails with the hope that they would help him in winning the referendum with flying colours". Musharraf's never brought up the subject of civil war. The religious loons are the ones not accepting the results. And it seems like Bad Guys belonging to all parties were sprung, which was a bad move... It also charged Musharraf of "implementing another agenda - the agenda to break up Pakistan if Pakistan cannot dissociate itself from Islam — the agenda which is set by the people like (Chief of US Armed Forces) Donald Rumsfeld and (CIA Chief) George J Tenet". Ahhh... The foreign plot. The International Conspiracy Against Islam. We've seen its like before... Terming the referendum results as "fake and exaggerated", Pakistan opposition parties have already demanded Musharraf's resignation for being elected by a "sham vote". And that's an echo of the opposition's line. Wonder how involved the non-religious parties are in this scheme? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |