MIRANSHAH, 8 May 2006 — A leaflet urging Pakistanis to rise against President Pervez Musharraf was distributed in the volatile tribal district near the Afghan border yesterday, residents said.
It came a day after another leaflet, containing statements purportedly from Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, was distributed in the same region — North Waziristan tribal district — calling for Musharraf’s assassination. Saturday’s leaflet sought the support of tribal people to defeat the United States and Pakistani troops battling pro-Taleban insurgents in the tribal regions.
Written in Urdu, it bears the signature “Mujahedeen Emirate-e-Islamia Afghanistan” and was distributed in the towns of Mir Ali and Miranshah, residents said.
The new leaflet yesterday, issued by a group calling itself Mujahedeen Waziristan’s Free Tribes, said jihad or holy war had become an obligation for all Muslims.
“It is an obligation on you to support tribal Muslim brothers with money and life,” the leaflet said. The sponsors of the leaflets have urged all recipients to spread the message to people in other parts of the country.
The Pakistan Army has been battling Al-Qaeda and pro-Taleban militants in two districts of the Waziristan tribal belt for the past three years, killing hundreds of insurgents for the loss of 600 soldiers.
