Months after Pakistani troops chased them from South Waziristan, these militants have established a new base farther north under the protection of an insurgent leader who has cut past deals with the Pakistani army, according to residents, militants and reports from Associated Press correspondents who visited recently.
The fighters — including Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks — roam through markets, frequent restaurants and watch jihadi movies or surf the Web at Internet cafes, their weapons propped up against the table. Pakistani troops wave them through checkpoints even though they’re armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers.
These are the new VIPs in Pakistan’s most dangerous region, North Waziristan.
The influx of these militants in North Waziristan in recent months adds to pressure on the army to launch an offensive there, and raises questions over its policy of making agreements with Gul Bahadur and other insurgent commanders who threaten US forces in Afghanistan but do not attack targets in Pakistan.
Bahadur agreed not to help his fellow militants during last year’s offensive in South Waziristan as part of an understanding reached with the army.
In exchange, the army would not attack his territory to the north.
Now it appears that this pact has backfired on the army, enabling militants whom Pakistan considers a threat to its security to regroup on Bahadur’s lands.
The military says it is not moving into North Waziristan because it does not have enough troops to do so effectively. Critics say the force is holding back because it does not want to sever alliances with militant factions fighting just across the border in Afghanistan, believing they will one day serve Pakistan’s interests there.
That makes North Waziristan an enticing destination for extremists, even with US missiles regularly pounding the region.
All but two of the 27 missile strikes fired from unmanned drones since January have hit targets in the north, according to a count by the AP. Newly arrived Pakistani Taleban, Arab and Uzbek militants from South Waziristan are now commonly seen in the north’s major towns, Mir Ali and Miran Shah, which are under the control of Bahadur, according to residents there and two AP reporters in the region.
The Pakistani Taleban has set up a command and control center in Mir Ali’s bazaar, where it communicates by radio with other groups in the tribal belt, witnesses say.
All those interviewed declined to give their names, citing fear of retribution by either the Taleban or Pakistani security forces. The AP reporters also asked to remain anonymous for the same reason.
“Under tribal customs and traditions, we are bound to host brothers from South Waziristan. We are like brothers and we support each other,” said a close aide to Bahadur.
Before launching the offensive in South Waziristan, the Pakistani army acknowledged striking the deal with Bahadur.
On Wednesday, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas denied the force had any ongoing deal with Bahadur not to attack his territory, saying the local administration may have an arrangement with tribal leaders in the area to ensure peace there.
But security analysts and residents disputed this, saying there was clearly a truce of some sort in the region.
Abbas insisted the army had not ceded the north to militants, saying the army had about 25,000 troops stationed there that carry out small-scale, targeted operations against insurgents.
