Pakistani tribes fight alleged al-Qaida allies

WANA, Pakistan — For many reasons, South Waziristan is the perfect place to hide. The land is treacherous, with rugged roads and jagged beige peaks, and the people are famous for protecting guests no matter what the cost.

That hospitality appears to have run out. In a place where locals have long been accused of sheltering foreign Islamic militants, an army of tribesmen is battling Uzbeks who fled neighboring Afghanistan after the fall of the harsh Taliban regime there in late 2001.

The Uzbeks have now been pushed into the mountains, according to the Pakistani army, which has provided support to the local Pashtun tribesmen.

"They said we are sick and tired of the foreigners; we want to live a normal life," said Maj. Gen. Gul Muhammad, a division commander, at a briefing this month for journalists at the army base near Wana.

"It's an indigenous movement, it's a homegrown affair, and it's picking up momentum."

Pakistani officials, criticized by some in the West for not battling hard enough in the war on terrorism, cite the fighting as proof of their country's commitment.

But others are concerned the battles could actually end up strengthening the Taliban and consolidating the group's influence in the seven lawless semi-autonomous tribal areas known as agencies in Pakistan's northwest frontier.

They are areas the government has historically considered almost off-limits, where the Pashtun tribes have largely governed themselves, and where criminals have fled to escape the reach of Pakistani police.

The alliance between the army and local tribal leaders, one of whom is a local Taliban commander, could raise the concerns of Western allies instead of pacifying them.

Foreign diplomats are already worried Pakistan has ceded too much control of the tribal areas to militants, largely through controversial recent truces in which the army retreats and the tribes step forward to provide security.

It's unclear exactly what is happening in South Waziristan. Foreigners are not allowed to go there without an army escort. But area tribesmen interviewed in the nearby city of Peshawar confirmed that the locals, backed by the army, are fighting the Uzbeks — alleged al-Qaida allies blamed for a spate of kidnappings and killings.

Such cooperation between tribal leaders and the army is unprecedented in any of the tribal agencies.

The fighting is reportedly the heaviest in two years, although death tolls vary widely. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf claimed 300 Uzbeks had been killed. Muhammad, the general, said 150 to 200. Locals said dozens.

Regardless of the figure, Pakistani authorities say the fighting is evidence of how Pakistan is fighting al-Qaida and winning over the tribes and how the truces are actually working. Army officials hope South Waziristan will soon be cleared of foreign militants, and that locals in neighboring North Waziristan will rise up also.

But U.S. and European diplomats say the truces have had exactly the opposite effect across the border in Afghanistan, where international troops are fighting a resurgent Taliban. They criticize the truces for creating safe havens in Pakistan for militants to launch cross-border attacks.

After a truce in North Waziristan last fall, U.S. commanders in Afghanistan claimed the number of cross-border attacks tripled.

Several Western officials have said al-Qaida and the Taliban have set up training camps in the northwest frontier.

Western complaints have frustrated Musharraf, who has survived two assassination attempts by militants and lost about 700 soldiers in fighting in the tribal areas.

"If Pakistan is not doing enough, then no one is doing enough," he told military leaders from 22 countries at a security conference this month in Islamabad.

Pakistani officials distinguish between local Taliban and Afghan Taliban, whom they blame for the attacks in Afghanistan. They say they have an almost impossible task, trying to control the backward tribal areas. The authorities also say they cannot completely control the border, which splits the Pashtun tribal belt, cutting villages, homes and families in two.

Many Pashtuns in Pakistan have also always sympathized with the Taliban, a Pashtun-driven movement.

The battles near Wana, which started in March, mark the culmination of years of effort to persuade the tribesmen to get rid of foreign militants. If tribal militias lead the fight, the rest of the tribes will likely support them.

The alliance may be seen as a success so far by the Pakistanis. But as is often the case in Pakistan, the real situation could be far more complex.

Some locals say that, rather than a spontaneous uprising of locals against foreigners, the army exploited a tribal split and backed a faction aligned against the Uzbeks, who were accused of setting up their own prisons, committing crimes and dominating the locals.

Some locals and experts believe that pushing the foreigners out of South Waziristan could strengthen the Taliban, raising questions about who controls the province and whether cross-border attacks could increase even further.

Mullah Nazir Ahmad, the cleric leading the South Waziristan tribal militia fighting the Uzbeks, also commands the Taliban in the area. Locals say he is connected to the Afghan Taliban and Arab fighters.

"The Uzbeks waged a war against the people and the government, setting up checkpoints, kidnapping people, and no one was safe," said Daktar Khan, a timber trader from South Waziristan.

"For the local people, the Taliban are now doing good," he said. "We support the Taliban against the Americans in Afghanistan. Getting rid of al-Qaida and the foreign forces will definitely strengthen the Taliban."

The Taliban in the tribal areas could send more fighters across the border once they are not distracted by the Uzbeks, some say.

Supporters believe the local Taliban could live peacefully in a tiny de-facto Islamic state in the tribal areas. On April 15, Wana-area tribal elders, clerics and local militants, including Nazir, signed a peace accord.

"I don't think the Taliban will be going across the border anymore," said Shah Alam, who is from South Waziristan and in the same sub-tribe as Mullah Nazir. "They're establishing a new role — running the area."