PESHAWAR, 12 June 2006 — Coalition forces bombarded Khawaja Khizer village on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border near Angoori Adda in Pakistan’s Tribal regions. Confirming the bombardment Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said, “Bombing took place in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border.”
He said some parts of village Khawaja Khizer are located in Afghanistan.
Commenting on casualties, he said, bombing took place inside Afghanistan. One injured person crossed over to Pakistan and was taken into custody.
Meanwhile the Political Agent of Khyber Agency, gateway to South Asia, imposed a curfew in Bara and adjoining regions following growing tension between two militant groups Lashkar-e-Islami and an Afghan cleric Pir Saifur Rehman yesterday.
Tension was brewing in Khyber Agency when an armed conflict took place between Mufti Munir Shakir and Saifur Rehman on March 28 when gunmen of the two organizations traded bullets. Dozens of people were killed.
Authorities using Frontier Crime Regulations clamped curfew then and a temporary peace was made possible.
After the bloody clash Mufti Munir left Khyber Agency and proceeded to Dubai. Saifur Rehman also left Khyber.
Thereafter an Islamic Lashkar was organized by the followers of Mufti Munir with the manifesto of restoring Islamic laws in the Khyber Agency.
On Saturday hundreds of men from Islamic Lashkar marched to two main shopping areas of Khyber Bara and Karkhano market. They hurled threats at Political Agent of Khyber Tashfeen. Armed to teeth, these men chanted slogans for immediate introduction of an Islamic system in the agency and called for the elimination of bandits and outlaws.
Political authorities of Khyber headed by Political Agent Tashfeen under Frontier Criminal Regulations (legal system specific for the Federally Administered Tribal Agencies) clamped a curfew.
Main markets were closed after the imposition of the curefew. Khyber Rifles established checkposts and started patrolling main highways leading to Bara, Karkhano Market, Jamrud and Landi Kotal.
Political authorities announced here yesterday, “We cannot allow any organization to establish a parallel system of government.”
As the federal government under the directives of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf is attempting to introduce reforms in semi-autonomous tribal regions new trends and ideologies are developing in the tribal regions. Musharraf unfolded a new strategy to introduce health and education schemes and warned foreign element to leave tribal areas on Saturday at the conference of senior military commanders. Different newly established organizations with local followings are surfacing with altogether new philosophies and ideologies.
Since 2001 when the army began its operations against the Al-Qaeda and Taleban elements the hard hit segment of tribal regions are Smugglers and drug barons.
The Anti Narcotics Force of Pakistan demolished five poppy conversion factories located on Pakistan and Afghanistan border. Drug running is yet another menace which emanates from Afghanistan and creates numerous problems for Pakistan’s different security outfits.
Drug runners too are fully armed with automatic weapons and at times pose threats to the law enforcing agencies.
