Hmmm... They slapped Qazi. I'd call that a good sign...
Senior FATA elders on Saturday addressed a grand jirga and warned political parties, especially the MMAâs component party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), from meddling in tribal affairs. They disregarded the JI set-up jirga, calling it an abortive attempt to malign patriotic tribesmen.
| JI didn't mention that it was their own pet jirga, no doubt packed with their own pet members... |
Iqbal Khattak adds: The Zalikhel sub-tribe have asked Al Qaeda suspects and their tribal supporters to surrender to the government and leave South Waziristan. âToday, we decided to expel Al Qaeda from Waziristan,â Malik Bostan of the Zalikhel tribe told Daily Times from Wana after a jirga of the tribe.
| "So how 'bout if all you Arabs and Chechens and Uzbeks leave, huh? Please?" |
Five tribesmen accused of sheltering Al Qaeda suspects belong to the Zalikhel tribe. However, Mr Bostan said Al Qaedaâs expulsion was more important than the surrender of the five wanted men, which he called a âsecondary considerationâ.
| That assumes there's a difference between al-Qaeda and the wanted men, which I haven't seen demonstrated... |
âFirst, we need to get rid of Al Qaeda because by doing so we can save our areas from military operations and destruction,â the tribal leader said. âWe will chase the wanted men also but first things first, we have to act against Al Qaeda,â he said and called on the Ahmedzai tribe also to join the Zalikhels to purge Waziristan of Al Qaeda. However, a tribal elder from the Ahmedzai tribe was not optimistic about Malik Bostanâs call for a larger tribal lashkar to fight Al Qaeda. âThe problem is within the Zalikhels.
| "Those people are crazy! Even by FATA standards, they're loop-loops!" |
"If they cannot put their house in order, we cannot help them. The Zalikhels should make a move and then if we see that they need other tribesâ help then we will help them,â the Ahmedzai tribal told Daily Times on the phone from Wana. A team of Zalikhel tribesmen is likely to meet NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah in Peshawar on Monday to discuss the situation in Waziristan. âWe will take up the Ahmedzai tribeâs support during our meeting with the governor,â Mr Bostan said. During the Zalikhel jirga on Saturday, a 300-man lashkar was formed and three sub-tribes of the Zalikhel â Sheikh Bazeed, Utmankhel and Kakakhel â contributed to the tribal armed group.
| And that's simply done wonders... |
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