KABUL, 11 August 2007 — A council of Pakistani and Afghan tribal leaders debating ways to end Al-Qaeda-backed terrorism in the region heard calls yesterday for Western forces to be thrown out of Afghanistan in favor of Islamic troops.
Pakistani tribal elder and former MP, Malik Fazel Manaan Mohmand, told 700 delegates seated in a giant white tent that the presence of NATO and US-led forces in Afghanistan was a major cause of insecurity. Pakistan had helped Afghanistan battle the invading Soviets in a jihad, but Kabul had now brought in a new foreign force, he said. “How can I accept that yesterday jihad against the Russians was a must, and today this is not a jihad?” he asked.
“There is no need for the NATO forces. Bring Islamic countries’ troops,” said Mohmand, from Pakistan’s Mohmand Agency, in a heated address that earned him a smattering of applause. His call came on the second day of a three-day “peace Jirga,” aimed at persuading the fiercely independent tribes from the remote border regions to root out Taleban and Al-Qaeda elements using their territories as hideouts.
The unique gathering of delegates from both sides of the border — tribal chiefs, parliamentarians and other leading figures — went into closed session yesterday which was expected to extend till today.
Another delegate, Afghan MP Sardar Mohammad Rehman Ogholi said it was undeniable that “some terrorists” were entrenched in the Pakistani tribal belt along the Afghan border and should be asked to leave the region. “If they did not, Pakistan will grab them by one hand and Afghanistan by the other and we will together throw them away,” the parliamentarian said. “It is also clear that they are uninvited guests,” he said, apparently referring to the Al-Qaeda movement made up of “jihadists” from various Islamic nations.
As delegates pondered the region’s future in Kabul, Afghan and coalition forces said they killed at least 10 Taleban in a 13-hour battle in the flashpoint southern province of Helmand. Scores of others may also be dead or wounded, they said.
The day before, Pakistan’s military pounded militant hideouts in the north of the country and said it had killed at least 10 Al-Qaeda and Taleban fighters.
Extremist violence and “Talebanization” are growing worries for the neighbors, both allies in the US-led “war on terror.” Kabul and Islamabad have traded accusations about the causes of the unrest, with Washington warning also that Al-Qaeda is being allowed to regroup in remote tribal areas of northwestern Pakistan.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai opened the Jirga on Thursday by urging delegates from the neighboring countries to work together to find a solution to the growing violence. There were new calls for unity yesterday.
“We share a common book, the Qur’an, religion and language. We have never fought on any of these issues,” said Afghan parliamentarian Shukria Barakzai.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry yesterday said Musharraf has agreed “in principle” to address the closing session of the Jirga in Kabul.
The president “agreed in principle” to address the anti-terror conference after Afghan President Hamid Karzai phoned him late yesterday, the ministry said.
