| I'm gonna have to set up a macro key for this story... |
 Wazir tribesmen have distributed pamphlets in South Waziristan's regional headquarters, warning the tribal people against giving shelter to foreign militants, a tribal elder told Daily Times on Saturday.
"Mahmoud! What's this here pamphlet say?"
"Hell, I don't know, Ahmed! I can't read neither!"
"Let's ask that nice Arab feller stayin' at the holy man's guest house! Bet he can read!" |
The single-page pamphlet in Urdu from little-known 'Qabalili Jirga' were distributed in Wana nine days before the deadline expires for wanted militant Abdullah Mehsud to surrender. The pamphlet asked Wazir tribesmen not to help Al Qaeda-linked foreign militants. For the first time the tribesmen distributed pamphlets themselves, because in the past such an exercise was being carried out either by the Pakistan Army against the militants or by the militants against the authorities. A pamphlet, obtained by Daily Times, describes foreigners as "enemy of peace".
| "Good news, Ahmed! He sez it ain't nothin' to worry about!" |
"Do not provide shelter or help foreigners. If you do this, you will be at a loss," the pamphlet asks the tribesmen. The pamphlet is titled: "What foreign terrorists and militants want?" It calls upon the tribesmen to join government ranks against unwanted people in their areas. Top military commander Lt Gen Safdar Hussain has set January 15 deadline for the surrender of former Guantanamo Bay inmate Abdullah Mehsud, accused of kidnapping two Chinese engineers in October 2004. Meanwhile, militants fired three mortars at a security check-post in Spinkay Raghzay area of South Waziristan, causing no damage or loss of life. A government official told Daily Times that the mortars missed their target.
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