ISLAMABAD, 13 December 2006 — Pakistan yesterday defended a peace pact reached with militants in North Waziristan, saying the signatories had no links with Taleban fighting Western forces in Afghanistan.
North West Frontier Province Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai said the pact inked in September had brought peace. He conceded that between 150-200 foreign militants were still living in the region, but said that was a quarter of the number in 2004.
His comments came a day after the International Crisis Group think tank issued a report that the pact had created a virtual Taleban mini-state where pro-Taleban tribesmen dispense justice and fighters were launching cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.
“I would say everyone has won because of this agreement, it’s a win for the tribesmen, it’s a win for the government, for the country and the people,” Aurakzai said in an interview with state Pakistan Television aired yesterday.
“There was a situation when there was fighting and both sides suffered casualties, soldiers were martyred, the other side suffered casualties and damage. But at last when you sit for talks and the matter is over then you accept each other as friends,” he said.
Aurakzai said that the peace agreement was concluded with tribesmen and madrasa students who have no links with the Taleban in Afghanistan.
“Their leader is not Mullah Mohammed Omar,” he said, referring to the chief of the former Taleban regime ousted by US-led forces in Afghanistan in 2001 for hosting Al-Qaeda. “They are Pakistani madrasa students.” He also denied that militants had set up courts in the area.
The peace deal, inked in September after a June cease-fire, capped the fighting in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, differences have cropped up between pro-Taleban militants in South Waziristan over the appointment of a new commander. Maulvi Muhammad Nazir’s appointment as commander has upset many Taleban who say the commander has started enforcing strict laws, Haji Gul Pazir, a tribal notable, told Arab News.
Haji Muhammad Omar, who took over as the commander after group leader Naik Muhammad’s killing in a missile attack in June 2004, was quoted as saying that Nazir deserved to be appointed Amir. Omar is Nazir’s deputy, who is known as a moderate commander. Gul Pazir said majority of the Taleban do not approve fighting Pakistani troops because they say Pakistan Army never carried out operations, it only retaliated in defense.
The United States said Monday it was concerned about safe havens being established by militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
The militants are consolidating their hold in northern Pakistan and vastly expanding their training of suicide bombers and other recruits and fortifying alliances with Al-Qaeda and foreign fighters, the New York Times reported Monday.
Their new strength has led to “virtually a Taleban mini-state” and portends an “even bloodier year for Afghanistan in 2007,” the report warned, quoting diplomats and intelligence officials from several nations.
Many Taleban guerillas fled to Pakistan’s tribal zone after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The Taleban’s subsequent insurgency has spiked in 2006 with almost 4,000 deaths.
“Clearly, you still do have cross-border infiltration and I know that that is a concern for the Pakistanis and the Afghans,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, commenting on the Times report.
“But having safe havens and areas where these extremists can operate from is a real concern for us,” he said.
Since the September accord, NATO officials say cross-border attacks by Pakistani and Afghan Taleban and their foreign allies have increased, the Times reported.
