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Maulana Nek Zaman

Maulana Nek Zaman

Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam

India-Pakistan

20051129

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India-Pakistan

Elders negotiating N Waziristan truce

2007-10-12

A small jirga of tribal elders is negotiating a ceasefire with government officials in North Waziristan after fierce clashes between security forces and militants in which 250 people have been killed. NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai told reporters in Peshawar that a jirga was negotiating a ceasefire. “Once the ceasefire is agreed upon then a larger jirga will discuss permanent peace,” he said. “Once the ceasefire is agreed upon then a larger jirga will discuss permanent peace,” he said. Tribal sources in Miranshah said that MNA Maulana Nek Zaman, Maulana Deen Dar and Maulana Muhammad Alam were holding meetings with the military authorities and the militants to reach a ceasefire. The jirga is also trying to negotiate the opening of the Miranshah-Bannu highway for public traffic. However, the army reserved the right to retaliate if military installations were attacked. “We will retaliate if we come under fire,” Maj-Gen. Waheed Arshad told Daily Times by phone from Rawalpindi. An informal ceasefire began on Wednesday to allow tribesmen to bury some 50 people who were killed in an airstrike the previous day that hit the main market in the village of Ippi. The army said the victims of the bombing were pro-Taliban militants, but residents said the dead were civilians including women and children. 55 civilians killed: “We know that the army killed 55 innocent people, and they included women and children,” Zaman told AP. “We know it because we buried them.” Gen Arshad said he did not know how many civilians had died, but blamed militants for opening fire on security forces from villagers’ dwellings, making them legitimate targets. A military statement said elders from two villages near Mir Ali had sought army protection “because militants use their compounds, which are ultimately targeted by retaliating security forces drawing in and inflicting collateral damage on civilians”. Many civilians have fled Mir Ali and nearby villages because of the fighting and a shortage of supplies. “Residents are still leaving for safer places despite the lull in fighting but the last two days have been far better,” Salam Dawar, a resident of Harmuz village, told Daily Times by phone. 50 foreign militants killed: Gen Arshad said the jirga which met military authorities told them that the 200 militants killed in ‘Operation al-Mizan’ included 50 foreigners, 25 of them Uzbeks and the rest from Tajikistan, Afghanistan and of Arab descent. Two soldiers were injured when an improvised explosive device struck a military convoy coming from North Waziristan near Bannu airport on Thursday. Another IED was detected and safely exploded on the Miranshah-Bannu road at Pattasi Adda near Mir Ali, the military said. Late in the evening, militants fired rockets at the army’s Amin picket No 1 in Miranshah, prompting return fire from the security forces. There were no reports of casualties. Yeah, sure. What's a few rockets fired off in the course of a ceasefire?

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Afghanistan

Taliban's beauty training secrets

2007-08-17

The Taliban have published the movement's first military field manual detailing how to spring ambushes, run spies and conduct an insurgency against coalition forces in Afghanistan, The Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday. At 144 pages, Military Teachings - for the Preparation of Mujahideen, is a minutely detailed "how to" book on subjects ranging from tactics and weapons to building training camps and espionage. The guide, which is similar in its aims to British and American military field manuals, was obtained by The Daily Telegraph from a source in Pakistan who claimed to be close to the Taliban. Its cover bears the image of two crossed swords and the holy Quran, the arms of the Taliban's ousted government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The book "will soon be made available to the commanders in Afghanistan as well as its adjacent tribal areas in Pakistan", the source said. The book, written in the Pashto language, "will soon be made available to the commanders in Afghanistan as well as its adjacent tribal areas in Pakistan", the source said. He added that copies of the manual had been circulated to the Pakistani tribal area of Bajaur. Its publication highlights the extent of the Taliban's revival six years after it was deposed by a US-led invasion. "This is the first of its kind and shows a significant level of organisation," said Brigadier Mahmood Shah, a retired military intelligence officer who was in charge of security in the tribal areas. Brig Shah said "soft" Pakistani government policy towards the pro-Taliban militants had allowed them to flourish in the lawless ethnic Pashtun tribal areas that straddle the Afghan-Pakistani border. Maulana Nek Zaman, a MNA from North Waziristan, said the manual had a potentially large readership. "It is not a case of just Taliban who are fighting but all the tribes are resisting because they have been attacked," he said. Last year the Taliban published a pocket-sized code of conduct which described suicide bombers as "Omar's missiles", referring to the Taliban's spiritual leader, Mullah Omar. It laid out the rules of daily life including a ban on relations with young boys ? an activity favoured by some Afghan fighters. The military manual is divided into 10 chapters and appears to be the result of a collaboration between religious scholars and specialists in terrorist, logistical and intelligence tactics. It is illustrated with simple formulas for the preparation of explosives, pictures and diagrams of light and heavy weaponry, ammunition and communication equipment. The bulk of the manual details basic military skills such as firing positions and how to use different weapons. "In a situation where infidels and their crooks are ruling the world, it is the prime duty of all the Muslims to take arms and crush those who are bent upon crushing the Muslims throughout the world." It advises on how to carry out remotely controlled attacks on enemy vehicles, and shows how to strike aircraft and armoured vehicles by targeting weak points. It shows with diagrams how to target vehicles passing through rough terrain at low speed and how telegraph poles and trees can be used to range in on a target. It also explores methods of blowing up bridges, railway tracks and power and telephone lines. Its preface sets out the Taliban's justification for war: "In a situation where infidels and their crooks are ruling the world, it is the prime duty of all the Muslims to take arms and crush those who are bent upon crushing the Muslims throughout the world. This is the best time to take on the usur

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India-Pakistan

Joint jirga meaningless without peace in Wazoo: MMA MNA

2007-08-09

North Waziristan Member of National Assembly Maulana Nek Zaman, while rejecting the government demand of reviewing the jirga boycott decision, has said until Pakistan solves its own problems, it cannot discuss peace in another country. Especially when that country borders Pakistain. He termed the joint peace jirga meaningless without peace in Waziristan. Which is kind of an admission that the unrest in Afghanistan emanates from the Wazoos. In an interview with NNI, he said the MNAs had urged the government to settle the problem through negotiations and jirgas instead of using force, but the government had not accepted their request. That could be because the Taliban and al-Qaeda aren't settling problems through jirgas and negotiations. If one party is negotiating while the other party is shooting the place up, the "negotiations" aren't plural. He said the members of Parliament and elders of North and South Waziristan were refusing to participate in the Pak-Afghan Peace Jirga in protest. It couldn't possibly be because those selfsame members of Parliament and Wazoo elders are dispatching hard boyz to shoot up Afghanistan. Maulana Nek Zama said it is a tribal tradition to never accept any decision taken at gunpoint, adding it was not a proper method of solving the problem. So how come they spend so much time pointing guns at each other? Do they accept decisions taken at rocket-point? They seem to do a lot of that, too. According to tribal customs, he said a jirga consisted of the concerned parties and points of contention. This jirga has no defined concerned parties, he added. Isn't that because they refused to show up? Answering a question, Maulana Nek Zama called upon the government to take solid steps for a solution to the Waziristan problem. Killing all the hard boyz would be a positive step, but I don't think that's the one he has in mind... He also called for the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan to allow the Afghan people to decide their fate. They could maybe do that, if the Pak people weren't trying to decide the Afghans' fate, too. He said the government had violated the peace pact it had signed with the North Waziristan tribesmen by increasing the deployment of troops to the check posts in the region, instead of reducing them as agreed in the treaty. The Wazoo hard boyz were the ones who said they weren't going to raid in Afghanistan, weren't they? He said on the one hand, the government was trying to maintain peace in the region by holding peace jirgas, while on the other it was simultaneously trying to settle the problems in Waziristan through force. If one doesn't work the other one might. He said the protestors had made it clear

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India-Pakistan

Jirga seeks Fazl's help to rescue North Waziristan peace deal

2007-07-26

Opposition Leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman may again have to step in to save the 2006 peace pact with Taliban militants in North Waziristan, after an all-tribes jirga requested the local Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam MNA to approach his party chief. A member of the jirga told Daily Times on Wednesday that JUI MNA from North Waziristan Maulana Nek Zaman had been asked to approach Maulana Fazl to break the deadlock over the question of removal of security check-posts, with both the government and the militants sticking to their positions on the issue. “We told the MNA that as the Maulana sahib had played a role in the deal last year he can play the same role now as well,” the member said on condition of anonymity. “The JUI-F MNA was told the Maulana sahib should talk to (President Gen Pervez) Musharraf to elicit some sort of flexibility from the government on removing the check-posts. What we want is that both sides move away from their present stands to keep the negotiations going,” the jirga member said. The Taliban pulled out of the accord on July 15, saying the government had violated the September 5, 2006, deal by re-establishing check-posts. On Tuesday, NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai rejected the Taliban demand for removal of the check-posts, saying the Taliban “have to guarantee peace” first. He told the jirga members that deteriorating law and order prompted the security forces to take control of the check-posts. Jirga members from North Waziristan dashed to Miranshah on Tuesday to try and secure a Taliban guarantee for peace as a pre-requisite for withdrawing the check-posts, after they declined to offer this guarantee on behalf of the Taliban. Maulana Fazl was instrumental in convincing Taliban leaders to reach the deal with the government last year. Tribal sources in Miranshah told Daily Times that the Taliban could change their stance on the withdrawal of security check-posts if Maulana Fazl intervenes. “His request will be difficult for the militants to ignore,” they said.

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India-Pakistan

Jirga members rush to Waziristan for talks

2007-07-25

Pro-Taliban jirga members rushed to North Waziristan Agency on Tuesday to save the 2006 peace agreement, as the government insisted that security checkposts would be removed only if tribal militants guaranteed peace in the region. “The government has lost trust in the tribal militants and the checkposts can only be removed if peace is guaranteed,” a jirga member quoted NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai as saying to the jirga members on the second day of negotiations. He said that MMA’s MNA Maulana Nek Zaman, Maulana Alam, Malik Nasrullah, Qadir Khan and some other jirga members had rushed to North Waziristan to seek a guarantee from the Taliban that they would keep peace in the region in return for removal of the security checkposts. “The pro-Taliban members of the jirga were asked if they could offer guarantees on behalf of the militants but the members said they would talk to the Taliban leadership to secure the assurance,” the member and a government official, asking not to be named, told Daily Times. The jirga member said the governor was pressed for some concessions but he was “inflexible” and linked the removal of checkposts with a pledge from the Taliban that they would honour the peace deal terms in letter and spirit.

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India-Pakistan

Wazoo Taliban sign peace deal with government

2006-09-06

Taliban militants signed a peace agreement with the government on Tuesday, pledging not to launch cross-border attacks in Afghanistan and not to shelter foreign fighters, officials said. The peace deal aims to end two years of violence in North Waziristan, where hundreds of people have died in clashes between security forces and Taliban militants. The Taliban had been observing a unilateral ceasefire since June. Taliban representative Azad Khan and North Waziristan chief administrator Dr Fakhar-e-Alam signed the agreement at the football stadium of Government Degree College in Miranshah, in the presence of army commander Major General Azhar Ali Shah. “Misunderstandings between the administration and Taliban led to unpleasant moments, but we are happy that a new beginning starts today,” MNA Maulana Nek Zaman of the MMA said at the ceremony, witnessed by around 500 tribesmen. A 10-member committee of tribal elders, clerics and administration officials was set up to monitor the progress and implementation of the agreement, a government statement read. Under the agreement, the Taliban accepted the government demand that cross-border attacks would not be launched nor foreign militants sheltered. They also agreed not to attack government buildings or security forces, and not to conduct “target killings” of government servants, tribal elders and journalists. In return, the government agreed to stop air and ground operations; return all weapons and other material seized during operations; restore privileges of tribesmen; and remove all check-posts. “It was the toughest jirga I ever participated in,” Malik Shehzada said of the 45-member jirga that negotiated the agreement with militant commanders over several weeks. Shahzaman Khan, spokesman for the NWFP governor’s FATA Secretariat, said the two parties “expressed their firm resolve to abide by all the conditions laid down in the agreement for establishment of an enduring peace in the tribal areas, particularly in North Wazirstan Agency.”

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India-Pakistan

Waziristan militants extend ceasefire

2006-07-23

A grand tribal jirga (council) on Saturday negotiated a one-month extension to the ceasefire in North Waziristan between local militants and government forces, officials said. The jirga led by Maulana Nek Zaman, National Assembly member from North Waziristan, held talks with local Taliban commanders at an undisclosed location east of Miranshah, official sources said. "The jirga has successfully negotiated a ceasefire extension, which is now effective till August 25," officials said after jirga members returned to Miranshah after a meeting with Taliban. A spokesman for the Governor's FATA Secretariat in Peshawar confirmed the ceasefire extension and release of six paramilitary troops by Taliban. "I think the jirga is doing well," he said.

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India-Pakistan

Holy man wants bad guyz released before jirga

2006-05-17

Unidentified tribesmen shot dead two khasadar (tribal police) personnel in Miranshah’s main bazaar late on Monday night. The attackers fled the scene after stealing the khasadars’ weapons. Also, MNA Maulana Nek Zaman told Daily Times on Tuesday that for the jirga (tribal council) that the government plans to form to be successful, all tribesmen arrested by security agencies would have to be released. He said about 50 tribesmen were being held at detention centres being run by intelligence agencies in Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar. As usual, making their demands before the talks start. Next having their demands met will be a condition of the talks.

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India-Pakistan

34 surrender in North Waziristan

2005-11-29

Thirty-four wanted “tribal militants”, including the general secretary of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman) in North Waziristan Agency, surrendered to the government on Monday after a peace deal was struck among elders, clerics and the civil administration. “They (surrendered militants) are now loyal and patriotic Pakistanis,” North Waziristan chief administrator Zaheerul Islam said at a ceremony in Miranshah on Monday. He made no mention of amnesty to the 34 militants. "No matter how many people they've killed..." Tribal cleric Maulana Sadiq Noor, who former Peshawar corps commander Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain described as a “key Al Qaeda facilitator”, was not among those who surrendered unconditionally, a tribal elder told Daily Times by phone from North Waziristan’s regional headquarters. Official sources said talks were taking place to negotiate Noor’s surrender as well. “Talks are going on to make it happen,” they told Daily Times. The peace deal comes after months of fighting between security forces and tribal militants and their foreign guests in the border area, and operations in Khattey Kaley in September in which both sides reportedly suffered heavy casualties. Key JUI-F leader and former MNA Maulana Deen Dar brokered the deal with the militants, mostly from his own party. MNA Maulana Nek Zaman and Senator Mateen Shah also helped the government reach the deal. Maulana Abdur Rehman, JUI-F general-secretary in North Waziristan, was prominent among those who surrendered. “We don’t know if there are any foreigners in North Waziristan. If there is anybody, he should register himself with the government,” Rehman said on the occasion. He said the “infidel world” wanted to destroy Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, clerics and mosques. “But we will not let it happen,” said Rehman, who security agencies suspected to be facilitating Al Qaeda in the area. The Monday peace deal was the first major “political breakthrough” since new Peshawar Corps Commander Lt-Gen Muhammad Hamid Khan took over in October. Chief broker Dar urged the government to differentiate between “the good and bad people” in North Waziristan. He did not elaborate. Tribal elder Khan Asghar Khan, speaking at the peace deal ceremony, underscored the tribal people’s sacrifices for the defence of the country. “The local population will never take a step that endangers the country’s security,” he said. He asked the tribesmen to stay vigilant as the “enemy”, an apparent reference to India, was trying on the western border to cause a divide between the tribes and the Pakistan Army. The North Waziristan administration did not release the details of the peace deal, or whether the surrendered militants were being kept in custody for interrogation or allowed to go home.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

MMA MNA denies links to terror

2005-09-15

PESHAWAR: Member of the National Assembly Maulana Nek Zaman of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal said on Wednesday that claims by the military that he was directly or indirectly supporting terrorists had “no truth.” "Lies! All lies!" Calling himself “a democrat,” the MNA denied that any of his relatives had been arrested in connection with terrorism. "My family? Certainly not! Except for Grampaw, of course... And my brother Ahmed, but he's not right in the head... And Mom, of course... And... ummm... my Dad... And Sonny, but you know how impressionable youth are..." “I am one who is helping peace to return to Waziristan,” Zaman said. Peshawar Corps Commander Lieutenant General Safdar Hussain had accused Nek in a briefing on Tuesday of “directly or indirectly” supporting terrorism in North Waziristan, where security forces on Tuesday arrested 21 militants and recovered weapons and a “spy drone.” "Well, y'gotta define 'supporting,' don'tcha?" “It comes as no surprise that the security forces recovered heavy weapons,” Zaman said. “There are weapons in every house in Waziristan.” "We're all avid elk hunters, y'know..." The MNA also dismissed the army’s claims that it had arrested foreigners. “Today, it makes claims of foreigners’ arrest and tomorrow, they turn out to be local inhabitants,” he said. Zaman asked how a “sealed” seminary had been used as an operational centre by terrorists when it was under the control of security forces. “I think Monday’s operation was the 15th in the last three years,” he said. “And what is important to note is that the (Haqqani) seminary has been sealed by the army for a long time, and no one lives there.” We were wondering about that, too... South Waziristan MNA Maulana Mirajuddin also came out in Zaman’s support. He said “baseless accusations” against Zaman from a top military commander did not look “good,” calling Gen Safdar’s “tirade” against Zaman an “attempt to make President Pervez Musharraf’s US visit a success.”

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