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India-Pakistan

Wazir tribes ratify new militant bloc

2008-07-08

Ahmedzai Wazir tribes in South Waziristan on Monday formed a new militant bloc urging Taliban leaders to strengthen bonds with other groups to foil any bid by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud to "re-impose Uzbek militants" on them. "The grand jirga of the Ahmedzai Wazirs has approved the agreement between [Ahmedzai Wazir chief] Maulvi Nazir and [Utmanzai Wazir chief] Mullah Gul Bahadar, allowing the two leaders to forge a unity against Mehsud," a tribal elder told Daily Times as he emerged from the meeting held in Wana bazaar. Nazir and Bahadar from South and North Waziristan respectively reached an understanding last month to strengthen bonds to defend the tribes' interest in the backdrop of the "threatening posture" of Baitullah from the rival Mehsud tribe. Both Nazir and Bahadar oppose Baitullah for 'sheltering' Uzbek militants. Nazir had launched a drive against the Uzbeks in March last year to drive them out from strongholds in the Wana, Kaloosha and Azam Warsak areas. Dissent: A tribal elder, Malik Bakhan, was fined Rs 500,000 for speaking against the agreement, said another tribal elder asking not to be named. "We should not play into the hands of [Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief] Fazlur Rehman or [President] Pervez Musharraf as they are following a divide-and-rule policy," Bakhan was quoted as telling the jirga. Witnesses to the meeting said Bakhan was sent to a private prison and tortured. Other elders, however, reached a compromise with the Taliban for Bakhan's release in return for Rs 500,000 fine. The Uzbek militants killed Malik Bakhan -- Nazir's close commander, not the dissenting tribal elder -- on June 1 near Dera Ismail Khan district. The killing was a major reason for Nazir to reach a defence pact with Gul Bahadar. It was decided at the meeting that taxes would be levied on government contactors and fruit exporters to finance the Taliban's bill for securing peace in the Wazir-dominated areas. "Government contractors and fruit and vegetable exporters will pay a small percentage of their revenue to shoulder the 'peace bill'," said the elder.

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India-Pakistan

Wazirs block foreign militants' return to Wana

2008-04-04

The Taliban are negotiating with the Ahmedzai Wazir tribes the return of former militant commanders and their foreign fighters to Wana after they were flushed out in last year’s popular drive, a tribal elder said on Thursday. “However, we have told the Taliban that the former commanders are welcome to return, but they cannot bring Uzbek or other foreign militants back to Wana or surrounding areas,” a tribal elder who was part of the jirga, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Daily Times in a phone call from Wana. The Taliban leadership had invited influential Ahmedzai Wazir elders to a jirga in Wana on March 31 to discuss possible permission for the return of ex-militant commanders along with foreigners who fled when local Taliban leader Maulvi Nazir led a campaign against foreign militants, especially Uzbeks. Chaos, lawlessness: “It was a unanimous decision of the jirga that foreign militants were not acceptable by any means as their return would plunge the area back into chaos, target-killing, and lawlessness,” the elder said. The local tribes’ rejection of the return of foreign militants to Wana comes after two air strikes by the United States since February 28 in Kaloosha and Wana respectively, pinpointing foreign militants. The two strikes left more than 30 local and foreign militants dead. Islamic Emirates, a Taliban-led parallel government in the Tribal Areas, is negotiating the return of five key Wazir militant commanders – Ghulam Jan, Maulvi Abbas, Haji Umar, Maulvi Javed Karmazkhel, and Noor Islam – return to Wana, along with foreign militants who accompany Taliban leader Maulvi Nazir. The five were commanders for Taliban leader Nek Muhammad, who was killed in a missile attack in Wana in June 2004. They were ‘hosts’ to Uzbek militants who local residents remember as “butchers” for their alleged atrocities against the Wazir populace. The five men, according to tribal sources, are being “sheltered by Taliban leaders who sympathise with foreign militants” in South and North Waziristan. Around 150 pro-government elders were killed between December 2004 and February 2007 in and around Wana, and Uzbek militants were prime suspects for all these killings and for other crimes. Sources said that Maulvi Nazir was “showing [a] soft corner” for the five commanders and also the foreign militants after the ‘Islamic Emirates’ “guaranteed good behaviour of the foreign militants”; however the sources added that the Ahmedzai Wazir tribes’ unwillingness would be difficult for him to bypass, as he had signed a peace accord with them. Nazir is taking the Ahmedzai Wazir tribes into confidence on every major issue before making any decision, and local analysts say that because of a “still unconsolidated and weak position” he could not ignore the local tribes’ strength in protecting him against any attack from foes.

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India-Pakistan

10 militants killed in IED explosion in S Waziristan

2008-02-29

'Pakistan Times' Sports Desk Honest, I couldn't make that up. WANA: At least 10 suspected militants were killed and seven others wounded when a powerful explosion caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in a house at Azam Warsak in South Waziristan Agency early Thursday morning. Red Wire Syndrome strikes again! According to official sources, the militants were preparing IEDs in the room when suddenly it went off with a loud explosion. As a result, the inmates of the house, majority of whom were foreigners, perished. "That's our story and we're sticking to it." However, the unofficial reports said the militants were killed when two missiles fired from undisclosed location, struck the house at Kaloosha village, some 15 kilometers West of Wana near Pak-Afghan border. The fugitives had hired the house few months ago on rent and were fast asleep when the deadly missile hit the house. "Stop that whistling, Abu. I'm trying to sle....KABOOM!" It may be recalled that about 12 militants were killed in a similar missile attack at a house in South Waziristan Agency in January last. Yes, I still have fond dreams about it. The incident terrorized the local tribesmen as the explosion’ sound was heard in long distance. The security agencies rushed to the scene and cordoned off the entire area. The law enforcers have started investigation. An earlier report had said that at least eight suspected extremists were killed and three others injured when a missile hit a house in Azam Warsak area in troubled South Waziristan Agency here early Thursday. Local tribesmen said that the missile, which was fired from undisclosed location, struck a house where the extremists had gathered. "Undisclosed Location"? Dick Cheney hunting again? As a result of severe explosion, at least eight persons were killed and three others injured. However, the Political Authorities when contacted said that a team has been sent to the area to inquire about the nature of the explosion and casualty. Meanwhile, a report from Swat says that the law enforcing agencies have arrested five suspected militants during a search operation in Fizzagut area of Swat district, police sources said Thursday. The law enforcers on tip off raided the militants’ hideouts at Fizagut and Abdul Khaliq, Zafar Ali, Saifur Rehman and Anwar Ali while another was arrested from Khwazakhela area. Curfew is being relaxed from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm in the area. The overall situation in the entire district was peaceful and people were seen busy in shopping and business activities as usual. It's Waziristan. A day without flying body parts would be unusual.

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India-Pakistan

Missile strike on militant hideout in SWA kills 10

2008-02-28

At least 10 suspected militants were killed in a missile strike on a house in South Waziristan early on Thursday, residents and officials said. The dead were believed to be of Pakistani and foreign origins, they said. The attack happened at about 2am in Kaloosha Village, 10 kilometres west of Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan Agency. “Nine militants were killed instantly while a wounded Punjabi militant passed away hours later in a local hospital,” the residents said. Security officials also put the toll at 10. However, local news agencies reported that 13 people were killed in the attack and several others injured. It is the second such attack in the area after militant commander Nek Muhammad was killed in a missile attack in June 2004. Resident Sharifullah said three missiles hit the house of Afghan national Sheroo. Sheroo hailed from Zalikhel tribe, which was notorious for harbouring foreign and local militants, the residents added. Afghans, Punjabis: They said the dead included Afghans and Punjabis whereas security officials pointed out the presence of Arab militants in the house. “There was no immediate information about the presence of any high-value target,” an official told AFP. Armed militants cordoned off the site after the missile strike, the residents said, adding that four unidentified ‘guests’ had arrived late on Wednesday at the destroyed house, although their identities were not known. The residents told Daily Times that local Taliban chief Maulvi Nazir did not visit the site of the attack or attended the dead militants’ funeral prayers. Later, the residents buried the militants. Punjabi militants helped Maulvi Nazir in ousting foreign militants, especially the Uzbeks, from the area last year. Blast: Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP that the deaths were caused by explosive material stored in the house, adding that 10 to 12 people were killed in the blast. “As per our information it was an explosion caused by explosive material in the house.” All of their nationalities were not known, he said. However, a security source, based in Peshawar, which adjoins the lawless tribal belt, said on the condition of anonymity that the missile was fired by a US drone at about 2am on Thursday. A spokesman for the United States-led coalition force based in Afghanistan said it had “no reports” that either it or the separate North Atlantic Treaty Organisation-headed force were involved in the strike. US drones have launched several strikes on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border targeting members of Osama Bin Laden’s network, although Islamabad never confirms such attacks due to issues of national sovereignty. The attack comes a month after Osama Bin Laden’s operational number three, Abu Laith al-Libi, was killed in a missile strike in the neighbouring Tribal Area of North Waziristan. Thousands of Al Qaeda and Taliban militants fled into Pakistan’s tribal belt after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.

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India-Pakistan

Taliban ban TV, CDs in public in parts of South Waziristan

2007-06-19

The Taliban have banned TV and video CDs in public in the Wazir areas of South Waziristan, warning that strict punishment will be meted out to violators. The Taliban, y'see, are the officially designated enforcers of the laws of the land in them there parts. A pamphlet issued by Mujahideen Waziristan and Aman (Peace) Committee chief Qasim Khan declared that the decision would take effect from Wednesday (June 20). “No tea shop or restaurant in Wana, Azam Warsak, Kaloosha and Angoor Adda will be allowed to show TV shows or play CDs and violators will be fined Rs 20,000 and their establishments will be demolished,” the pamphlet pasted in Wana’s Rustam Bazaar read. Any Taliban organization is, of course, duly empowered to destroy the property of anyone who violates their arbitrary dictates. The pamphlet did not state the reasons for the ban but a senior Taliban leader was quoted as saying the move was aimed at “keeping children away from watching jihadi CDs”. "Yasss. We're doing it for the children. Really." Eyewitnesses said all tea shops and restaurants removed TV sets and CD players immediately after the Taliban announced the ban. “Watching CDs showing violence is not good for the children,” a source quoting senior Taliban commanders told Daily Times. I tend to agree with that statement. On the other hand, banning everyone from watching anything to ensure the kiddies don't watch something does seem a bit draconian. Asked how the Taliban can claim they are stopping children from watching Jihadi CDs when they are recruiting children from schools in Tank district for jihad, a Taliban commander responded: “The situation in post-Uzbek Wana is different.” "Yeah. Dose CDs is red. Ain't dey, boss?" Mullah Nazir Ahmed, who took over as the Taliban ameer in September last year, asked senior commanders not to select school-going children for jihad. Mullah Nazir led an uprising against Uzbek militants in March this year, which resulted in the killing of more than 200 Uzbeks and forced the rest to flee to Mehsud areas in South and North Waziristan.

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India-Pakistan

Mir Ali criminals will be tried under PPC: Taliban

2007-04-17

Local Taliban leaders distributed pamphlets on Monday in Mir Ali subdivision of North Waziristan warning that murderers would be sentenced to prison and fined under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Local militants also banned the sale and purchase of intoxicants like liquor, hashish and an orange variety called ‘tharra’ that is used in homemade liquor, in the jurisdiction of Mir Ali. Residents said the pamphlet was to tighten the noose around foreign militants like Uzbeks who were driven out from Wana, Azam Warsak, and the Kaloosha areas of South Waziristan. The pamphlet warned that if anyone attempted to buy the prohibited items in any village of Mir Ali subdivision, they would be punished under the Pakistan Penal Code. This is a departure from the militants’ usual method of punishing criminals under the Shariah. The local Taliban said that dacoits, thieves and kidnappers were completely prohibited in Mir Ali subdivision and that any criminal captured would be punished. The pamphlet’s language implies that North Waziristan’s Taliban are planning on driving out the Uzbek warriors in the area in the same way that the South Waziristan Taliban flushed them out of their agency. The local Taliban also presented the limits of Mir Ali bazaar in the pamphlet.

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India-Pakistan

'No Taliban infiltrating into Afghanistan from S Waziristan'

2007-04-12

Pakistani forces have choked off the infiltration of Taliban insurgents into Afghanistan from South Waziristan, Major General Gul Muhammad, commanding officer of troops in Waziristan said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Maj Gen Muhammad said his men had virtually sealed the frontier. “No regular movement is taking place between South Waziristan and the Bermel area of Afghanistan,” he told Pakistani and foreign journalists on a military-organised trip to the region. “If someone proves it with any satellite imagery, I am responsible. We have choked all main routes,” he said. Maj Gen Muhammad said the Ahmedzai Wazir tribesmen were chasing Uzbek militants beyond Wana valley and the Pakistan Army hoped that the local population would rid Waziristan of all foreigners. He said that the Uzbek militants had retreated to Nandran heights in the northwest of Wana, but a tribal lashkar was chasing them. “It (the anti-Uzbek drive) was an indigenous movement,” he said, distancing the army from any involvement in the clashes. He said that around 200 Uzbeks and 40 tribesmen had been killed since the fighting started in March 19. “We are sick and tired of the foreigners,” the regional commander quoted the local population as saying. Though the visiting journalists were not allowed to go to Wana bazaar or talk to the residents, the soldiers deployed at the main base appeared relaxed. “Peace is returning to Waziristan,” a young soldier escorting the journalists’ team told Daily Times. The journalists were also taken to the Sholam observation post overlooking Wana valley. “Wana will become a model for the entire Waziristan region as far as the campaign against foreign militants is concerned,” Maj Gen Muhammad said, but added that the process would take time. He said the situation in Pakistani tribal areas “has links with the situation in Afghanistan”. At the briefing at the Shalom post, Brigadier Shafqat told the journalists that the tribesmen had “almost cleared” Kaloosha, Sheen Warsak, Azam Warsak and Wana of Uzbek militants. Maj Gen Muhammad said that Maulvi Nazir had not joined the fight against Uzbek militants as Taliban ameer but as a member of the Kakakhel tribe. He said that the army carried out major operations in South Waziristan in 2004 and 2005 but was unable to drive out the foreign militants because they had the support of local tribesmen at that time. He said that differences increased between the Uzbeks and the tribesmen after the foreigners killed several local people and were involved in kidnapping and car snatching. Maj Gen Muhammad said that Uzbek commander Tahir Yuldashev with a $5 million bounty on his head had not been caught.

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India-Pakistan

Lashkar chases Uzbeks out of S Waziristan

2007-04-10

A tribal army cleared the town of Azam Warsak in South Waziristan of Uzbek militants and claimed victory in their three-week fight against the militants linked to Al Qaeda, on Monday. “With God’s help, we have forced Qari Tahir Khan and his supporters to flee,” Mullah Owais Hanafi, a spokesman for the tribal army led by Maulvi Nazir, said in a statement. Qari Tahir Khan is a local name for Tahir Yuldashev, leader of the outlawed Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. “By (Monday) mid-day, the tribal army reached the centre of Azam Warsak to hoist a white flag – signifying the return of peace – and Uzbek militants left the area long before our mujahideen’s arrival,” Hanafi said. The tribal army, or lashkar, backed by most Ahmedzai Wazir tribes, launched attacks against the Uzbek militants on March 19 and pushed them out of Wana, Kaloosha, Sheen Warsak and Jaghunda. Sources close to Maulvi Nazir said the Uzbeks were “probably headed for North Waziristan”. The whereabouts of pro-Uzbek Wazir militant commanders Haji Omar, Noor Islam, Javed Karmazkhel and Maulvi Abbas were not known. Some tribal elders said they had gone “underground”. The government says around 250 Uzbeks and 50 tribal militants have been killed in the clashes. Mullah Owais described Yuldashev as an “agent of the CIA and Afghan intelligence” who was responsible for “barbaric injustices” against his hosts, including the murders of some 200 pro-government tribal elders since 2005. He denied that the federal government was helping the tribesmen. “We have no business with the government, nor are we its supporters,” he said. Agencies add: The lashkar found the bodies of eight foreigners killed in the battle to take Azam Warsak overnight, AFP reported. A local administration official said the tribal fighters were now carrying out house-to-house searches for militants and securing other areas. A police van on its way from Tank to Dera Ismail Khan was caught in a remote-controlled bomb explosion close to Ranwala, but no one was hurt, SANA reported.

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India-Pakistan

Tribesmen raise 900-man army to fight foreign militants

2007-04-04

A tribal army of 900 volunteers was raised on Tuesday to support Maulvi Nazir, a pro-government militant commander waging a fight against Uzbek militants and their local supporters in South Waziristan. A jirga of Ahmedzai Wazirs met again in Wana’s Rustam Bazaar to consider the request for a lashkar from Nazir, the ameer of the Taliban in South Waziristan, against Uzbeks resisting attempts to be expelled from the area, according to reports reaching here. “Tribal elders of Ahmedzai Wazirs gathered in the bazaar and approved raising a lashkar of 900 volunteers,” said the reports. Around 200 people, mostly Uzbeks, have been killed in ongoing clashes between Nazir’s supporters and the Uzbek militants and their local sympathisers in the Azam Warsak, Kaloosha and Karikot areas since last month. “Around 200 volunteers have left for Azam Warsak and Karikot areas to back Nazir’s men against the Uzbeks, who have put up a strong resistance so far,” a tribal elder told Daily Times in Tank after returning from Wana. Asked why the fight against the Uzbeks was taking so long, the elder said, “The Uzbeks are resisting because some of the Ahmedzai Wazir sub-tribes are supporting them. And secondly, the Uzbeks are getting help from Mazar-e-Sharif (a northern town in Afghanistan bordering Uzbekistan),” but stopped short of giving details of the help from the northern Afghan city. The Uzbek militants are in full control of western parts of Wana, such as Azam Warsak and Kaloosha, giving themselves a safe passage to the Afghan border, while Maulvi Nazir is strong in the eastern and southern parts of Wana and cannot cut off Uzbek supply lines from the Afghan border. “If the Uzbeks are getting any supply of weapons or anything else from across the border, that Maulvi Nazir might not know,” said a former security official in Tank city. He said Maulvi Nazir would have to cut off the Uzbeks’ supply lines, if any, from across the border. A pamphlet, distributed in Wana Bazaar by Nazir’s supporters, claimed that Uzbek commander Tahir Yuldashev of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan “is an agent of America and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and liable to be killed”. The elder said the Uzbeks were “spreading terror” across Wazir areas to “neutralise Nazir’s majority”. The former security official said the battle would decide the future of Waziristan, and defeat for Maulvi Nazir would be as “devastating for Pakistan as it would be for the Taliban ameer”. Since March 19, when the clashes began, the Uzbek militants and their sympathisers have held firm against Maulvi Nazir. However, Nazir’s supporters appear to be “in high spirits” following the approval of the 900-man army.

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India-Pakistan

Wazir tribes want foreign militants out

2007-03-25

A key leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl from South Waziristan said on Saturday that the majority of Ahmedzai Wazir tribes were now against the presence of foreign militants in their areas. Returning from Wana after brokering a temporary ceasefire between Maulvi Nazir-led militants and Uzbek militants, MNA Maulana Mirajuddin said the Ahmedzai Wazir tribes had “withdrawn the hospitality” enjoyed by foreigners since they crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan in 2001. “What I gathered there is that Maulvi Nazir enjoys the full support of Wazir tribes, who are no more willing to shelter the foreigners and are demanding the foreigners leave their areas,” the MMA parliamentarian told Daily Times over the telephone from Tank city. Around 130 Uzbek militants were killed in four-day clashes with the followers of Maulvi Nazir, who had ordered foreign militants to surrender after an Arab fighter was found dead, and the Uzbeks were prime suspects. During the clashes, 30 supporters of Nazir were also reported killed. Meanwhile, a jirga returned from Wana, but no final decision was made on the foreigners’ exit from the Wazir areas. “We were successful in the sense that both sides agreed to find a solution to the problem through a jirga,” said Mirajuddin. A security official said the situation in Azam Warsak, Kaloosha, Sheen Warsak and other areas around Wana was calm, and no clashes had been reported. “So far so good,” he said via phone from Wana. However, both sides were holding their positions on hilltops and roadsides, checking all traffic. Maulvi Nazir’s men reportedly captured three Uzbeks and a local, but there was no independent confirmation. Also, some rockets and mortars were fired from the Afghan side, injuring a man and damaging two houses in North Waziristan, a local administration official told Daily Times. “Five rockets and as many mortars were fired from across the border between 9am and 1pm in Utmankhel village, Mir Ali subdivision, from the direction of Afghanistan’s Khost province,” said the official. Misal Khan was injured when one of the rockets hit his home, while the other rockets and mortars landed in an open field, he added. He did not say whether security forces had retaliated. Meanwhile, two remote-controlled bomb attacks on two separate convoys of the Frontier Corps in Bannu injured one soldier.

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India-Pakistan

Ceasefire brokered in Wazoo

2007-03-23

A Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman) -dominated tribal jirga on Thursday brokered a temporary ceasefire between foreign militants and Wazir tribes in South Waziristan, who have been fighting since Monday. “Both sides have agreed to the jirga demand for a ceasefire,” said Niaz Muhammad Qureshi, JUI-F information secretary for South Waziristan. “We are glad that the two sides conceded to the tribal elders and clerics’ plea for silencing their guns in order to solve their issues through peaceful means,” he added. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said that the toll in four days of fighting likely crossed 135 on Thursday. The dead include some 100 foreigners, 25 fighters of local tribes. Senior militant leaders like Baitullah Mehsud, Sirajuddin Haqqani, son of senior Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, and Mullah Dadullah an unnamed Taliban commander from across the Afghan border reached undisclosed locations in South Waziristan to take part in the ceasefire negotiations. “They are all monitoring the situation and discussing with key local militant commanders how things can be cooled down,” said tribal sources. Tribal sources said that Maulvi Nazir, commander of pro-Taliban tribal militants in Wazir areas, at one point was unwilling to negotiate a ceasefire with foreign militants and their local harbourers. “The jirga members convinced him after hours-long parleys,” said sources in Dera Ismail Khan city, 200 miles south of Peshawar. Security officials in Tank city said that pro-Maulvi Nazir militants on Thursday ambushed two vehicles carrying 12 Uzbek militants, killing six of them in Zarmilan, 35 kilometres south of Wana. “Other foreign militants fled in the second vehicle while local militants lost two comrades in the ambush,” the security officials spoke on condition of anonymity. Otherwise, the clashes on the fourth day of the conflict were less intense, a military spokesman said. “The clashes continued but their intensity was low,” Maj-Gen Waheed Arshad told Daily Times by phone from Rawalpindi. Wana residents reaching Dera Ismail Khan city said that both sides were manning check-points in Azam Warsak and Kaloosha. “Both sides search you when you pass through areas they control area,” Nazar Muhammad, a general merchant in Wana, told Daily Times by phone from Dera Ismail Khan. Maulvi Nazir was quoted as saying that the foreign militants would be provided shelter as refugees only after they “disarmed” themselves. “There can be no other arrangement as far as the foreigners’ stay in (South) Waziristan is concerned,” he told a group of elders who visited him near Wana on Wednesday.

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India-Pakistan

Waziristan jihadis wage war on each other

2007-03-22

Syed Saleem Shahzad of the Asia Times, so salt to taste. The present bloody infighting between al-Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban in Pakistan's Waziristan tribal areas is likely to end in reconciliation between the two groups that will mark the beginning of the Taliban's major Afghan offensive. Maybe they'll have a Trucefire™! They always reconcile. The question is whether the reconciliation lasts longer than 24 hours. Well-placed sources maintain that the chief commander of the Taliban in South Wazirstan, Baitullah Mehsud, was in Afghanistan's Helmand province when the fighting, in which scores have died this week, erupted. He immediately rushed to South Waziristan on the orders of Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah. He put his foot down, and the fighting has now eased. "Stop that! Stop it this instant!" A new protocol is imminent, under which all parties will agree to fight in Afghanistan and not inside Pakistan. 'cause you listen to Mullah Dadullah if you value your life, you know ... And they've all agreed, in fact, not to cross the border to fight in Afghanistan, recall... How did this internecine strife in South Waziristan evolve? Because they're an ignorant, truculent lot? Is it just a battle between foreign militants and Pakistani Taliban - a clash of interests - or is it a blessing in disguise for the Taliban and a serious problem for the US-led forces in Afghanistan? When the story's being written by somebody with "Syed" in his name, I'll guess that it's a blessing in disguise for the turbans and a serious problem for civilized man. There has long been debate within the Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants over strategy in the fight against North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and US-led-coalition forces in Afghanistan: Should war be waged against all opponents - including US ally Pakistan - without discrimination, or should political issues be considered, so as to allow for strategic repositioning in future? The Uzbek al-Qaeda-linked militants in South and North Waziristan believe in a global war against NATO and all its allies, such as the Pakistani government. This strategy is now in conflict with that of the Taliban leadership. Since that leaves them taking with the right hand and slapping their benefactors with the left. Not that it's in the least unusual in that part of the world, but they try not to be quite so blatant about it until the check's cleared. The tension between the two sides broke out into open warfare on Wednesday in South Waziristan, with thousands of Pakistani Taliban dug in against the Uzbek militants and their supporters, believe to number 20,000. So far, at least 110 people have been killed, mostly Uzbeks. With 20,000 potential corpses they barely even scratched the surface. The fight has isolated the chief of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Tahir Yaldeshiv. Tahir is the main preacher of the idea that fighting the Pakistan Army is the first priority, and he is violently opposed to any rapprochement between Pakistani Taliban and the army. "The implementation of the sharia [Islamic law] and the appointment of the emir of the sharia emirate are supposed to be the first priority of mujahideen in Pakistan," Yaldeshiv said in a speech now widely available on disc. "Far, far better that we face the combined NATO-American force to the west and an invigorated Pak army on the east and have the flow of money cut off and the ISI helpers removed from our midst than to ignore an Islamic jot or tittle." "He said 'tittle'! He must be killed!" "Oh, shuddup!" Should the Taliban be part of a solution for their sympathizers in Afghanistan and Pakistan, or a constant problem? That was the debate initiated by Mullah Dadullah when he tried to mediate a ceasefire between Pakistani Taliban and the Pakistani military early last year. Dadullah has constantly argued that Pakistani Taliban going into Afghanistan and fighting against NATO forces was a greater service to Afghanistan's cause of freedom than staying in the two Waziristans and fighting Pakistani soldiers. "And nobody took us seriously when we pledged not to." The dialogue convinced the leading anti-army commanders in North Waziristan, Sadiq Noor and Abdul Khaliq, and they agreed that jihad was only relevant in Afghanistan and that fighting against the Pakistan Army had no relevance to the Afghan resistance. Al-Qaeda elements in North Waziristan, including Uzbeks settled in the town of Mir Ali, were converted to this point of view and broke with Yaldeshiv, who was living in South Waziristan and still demanding the establishment of the Islamic Emirates in Pakistan by waging jihad against "the crusaders' ally". At present, information coming from South Waziristan suggests that Uzbeks settled in three main points, Shin Warsak, Azam Warsak and Kaloosha, have now in effect been surrounded by local Taliban. The Uzbeks are tenacious fighters, but the most likely outcome will be their surrender and agreement that from now on all fighting will be done in Afghanistan. Such unity of purpose would be a boon for the Taliban's looming offensive against NATO. Hard to be unified when you're giving each other angry stares and muttering in your beards.

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