Militants-related violence continues to grip Pakistan in 2006,
and the Pakistani government still has a long way to go in its
fight against terrorism and extremism, despite a dual-track
strategy combining mailed fist with velvet glove for dissolving
tensions.
Involved in a two-front war against terrorism, with one in
southwestern province Baluchistan and the other in the tribal
region on the Pakistani-Afghan border, the Pakistani government
vows to root out terrorism across the country by means of military
activities and political
dialogue.?????
Restive Baluchistan
Anti-government Baluch tribes, demanding greater political
rights, autonomy and control over their natural resources in
southwestern province Baluchistan, have long attacked security
forces, government installations, public assets, which have claimed
the lives of hundreds of people including civilians since early
2004.
Located in remote and tough terrain, Baluchistan is sparsely
populated and backward in terms of economy, but rich in natural
resources, with officials saying about 23 percent of Pakistan's
total natural gas output is from the province.
Baluchistan's tribal militants have killed 339 people and
injured 870 others in more than 1,300 sabotage incidents from
January 2004 through July 8, 2006, according to government
statistics.
Three Chinese engineers were shot dead by militants self-claimed
as "Pakistan Liberation Army" on February 15, 2006, just days
before Pakistani president's visit to China. The well-planned
terror attack is believed to impose more pressure on the Pakistani
government.
In July 2006, the security troops raided many militants'
training camps in Dera Bugti, an area harboring militants from
Bugti tribe, the biggest Baluch tribe in the province, killing
scores of militants and pressing hundreds of others to
surrender.
In a major operation, the government forces on Aug. 26, 2006
killed the Bugti tribal chief Nawab Akbar Bugti, a prominent
anti-government figure. Since then, small-scale bombings targeting
policemen and civilians are repeatedly reported in
Baluchistan.
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But Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao has
recently said that the situation is cooling down fast in the
province, and the militants have been unable to carry out any major
subversive activities.
Pakistani military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan also
said that law-enforcement agencies have broken the back of
anti-state elements in Baluchistan.
"There were more than 50 Ferrari camps in the province most of
them have been crushed but some are still functional and we would
finish them also," he said.
During his remarkable visit to Baluchistan on Dec. 7-9,
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, vowing to push forward
economic development of Baluchistan, announced a grant of 6.3
billion rupees (US$100 million) for various development projects in
the province.
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Importantly, the president also announced amnesty in Baluchistan
for all those militants willing to surrender arms and said the
government was ready for talks on peace and development.
The Baluch tribals, the dominating residents in the southern and
eastern regions of Baluchistan, have a history of being in trouble
with the federal government. Analysts foresee that the ongoing
economic development plans will help alleviate poverty in the
province, but to achieve stability there will require more
negotiations between the government and the local tribes.
Northwest tribal region
The Pakistani government joined the US-led war on terror after
the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. It has sent some
80,000 troops to hunt al-Qaida militants and Taliban fighters who
sneak into northwestern Pakistani tribal region seeking refuge
following the Taliban fall in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has since arrested hundreds of al-Qaida and Taliban
members, including top lieutenants of Osama bin Laden. Hundreds of
troops have lost their lives during the clashes between government
forces and local tribal militants, many of whom share the same
Pashtun tribal background and have a history of close links with
the tribals in southeastern provinces of Afghanistan.
According to an official statement released recently, Pakistan
has arrested over 500 Taliban suspects, out of whom some 400 have
been handed over to Afghan authority.
The first half of year 2006 has seen numerous bombings and
attacks targeting security forces in the Federal Administrated
Tribal Areas (FATA), a semi-autonomous region, running from south
to north on the border.
On Sept. 5, 2006, Pakistani government enters into a peace deal
with local tribal elders in North Waziristan, belonging to FATA, in
an effort to end violence in the region and at the same time stop
cross-border movement of militants.
The government reportedly is continuously approaching tribal
elders for holding jirgas and working to promote the North
Waziristan-like deals to other tribal areas on the border.
But things are not always going smoothly for the government
which is pushing forward its holistic approach combining peaceful
dialogue and military activity.
On Oct. 30, 2006, Pakistani military killed some 80 alleged
militants in Bajaur tribal region, during an air raid targeting a
seminary, which, officials said, has served as a camp for training
militants for cross-border fighting.
Days later, a suicide bomber on Nov. 8 attacked recruits at a
military compound in northwestern town Dargai, killing 42 soldiers,
which came to be the biggest casualty the army has suffered since
it initiated the military operations in northwestern tribal region
years ago.
The military spokesman Shaukat Aziz said on Nov. 9 that the
government's policy for reaching peace deals in tribal region will
not change due to the deadly suicide bombings.
Militants' cross-border movement
The West world and neighboring Afghanistan have repeatedly
blamed Pakistan for not doing enough to stop the cross-border
movement of religious fighters from northwestern Pakistan's tribal
region into Afghanistan.
In a report released on Dec. 11, 2006, the Brussels-based
International Crisis Group said that the tribal areas in
northwestern Pakistan, especially the North and South Waziristan,
remain a "Taliban sanctuary" and a "hub for attacks" on the
international forces and the Afghan government.
Afghan government officials have on many occasions accused
Pakistani government of supporting Taliban militants in
Afghanistan, where escalating insurgency-related violence has
claimed nearly 4,000 lives so far this year.
Rejecting the claims, Pakistani government said it is committed
to combating terrorism, and as a victim of terrorism, Pakistan has
sacrificed much for the international war against terrorism.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Dec. 15 said that
Pakistan is committed not to allowing its territory to be used by
militants and had done all within its means to deal with this
issue.
Islamabad chose to drop support for Afghanistan's Taliban regime
in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and
joined Washington's "war on terror".
But Pakistani government's hunt for al-Qaida members and Taliban
militants on the border has not been going as smoothly as what the
Western world expects.
The Pashtuns, who reportedly constitute the majority of the
Taliban militants in southeastern Afghan provinces, are thought to
have close links with tribals in Pakistan's northwestern region due
to the same ethnic background.
The people of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and
FATA as well as the adjacent eastern regions of Afghanistan are
overwhelmingly Pashtun with about 28 million Pashtuns on the
Pakistani side of the border, and nearly half that on the Afghan
side.
Reports suggest there might be some cross-border infiltration by
militants into Afghanistan from Pakistan, which, however, could not
fully justify the tough accusation that it is Pakistan which should
be blamed for the insurgency in Afghanistan, analysts say.
Pakistan said it is keen to improve the management of the
border, and the challenge is to facilitate orderly traffic of goods
and people while addressing the problems of drug trafficking,
smuggling, terrorism and other trans-border crimes.
But Pakistan's proposal to fence the Pak-Afghan border was not
acceded by the Government of Afghanistan, said Pakistan's foreign
ministry.
Accordingly, Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to conduct
coordinated patrols along the border, which will be conducted by
Pakistan Army, Afghan National Army, international coalition
forces, while remaining on their respective sides of the
border.
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Also, Pakistan and Afghanistan are planning holding jirgas or
tribal councils on both sides of the Pakistani-Afghan border, in an
effort to persuade tribesmen to quit fighting in Afghanistan
through peaceful dialogue.
However, it is foreseeable that the handling of cross-border
movement will continue to be a worrying issue for the concerned
parts on either side of the Pakistani-Afghan border.
"We are facing a problem of terrorism and we're victim of
terrorism and we're trying to fight terrorism and root it out from
Pakistan," Fazal-ur-Rahman, a researcher in a government-funded
think tank, told Xinhua.
The anti-terror fight will remain a tough task for Pakistani
government, who needs to balance its involvement in handling
militants in both southwestern and northwestern regions, with a
balanced using of military operation, political dialogue and
development plans.
Besides, while offering help in hunting militants on the
Pakistani-Afghan border to the alleged "war on terror" led by
Washington, the Pakistani government will also need to give enough
consideration to the thinking of the local tribals.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2006)
