#2 India remembers the tribesmen. What they did in 1947 will not be forgotten.
"Dirty, blood-stained, ill-kempt with ragged beards and hair; some carrying a blanket, most completely unequipped," wrote Father George Shanks, a missionary priest in Baramullah, describing the ill-disciplined tribal army as it entered the town.
They were armed "with rifles of Frontier make, double-barrelled shotguns, revolvers, daggers, swords, axes and her and there a Sten gun. Jostling one another, shouting, cursing and brawling, they came on in a never-ending stream".
The tribesmen ransacked the mission (raping many nuns), looted Muslim homes and businesses, and abducted Sikh girls and women. |
Tribal elders on Saturday pledged that the tribesmen would strike back if India imposed war on Pakistan. Attending a jirga of tribal elders from the North and South Waziristan agencies, they said six million tribesmen would not bear Indian threats any more. More than 100 elders of various tribes in Jandola, Kurram Agency, Orakzai and other agencies were present in the meeting. Speaking on the occasion, the jirga members said Indian intelligence agencies had began propaganda against Pakistan in a bid to isolate it internationally. They warned India against threatening Pakistan, saying the country was fully capable of replying in a befitting manner in case of war. The elders said the tribesmen would fight along with the army in case of Indian aggression against the country. The jirga members also condemned Israeli government's atrocities against innocent Palestinians.