New Trend Magazine (www.newtrendmag.org) (410-435-5000)

MUSHARREF's MERCENARIES VIOLATING QUAIDE AZAM JINNAH's PLEDGE TO FRONTIER TRIBES
Pakistani People want to help Islamic Fighters: Musharref wants to kill them
Tablighi Jamaat Workers Also Targeted

Reader T. writes from Illinois:
Sharon and Musharraf: Two sides of the same coin. Mr Jinnah had withdrawn all Pakistani troops from tribal areas (FATA) and given his pledge that the tribes will live in freedom and dignity according to their rivaj. See his speech of August 14 and later speech in Baluchistan about tribal rivaj.

Musharraf has betrayed Jinnah's promise. According to The News seventy thousand troops are in the tribal areas. Hospitality and protection of those who seek refuge is the central doctrine of Pashtunwali; the tribal code hugely influenced by Islam.
The tribals have not revolted against Pakistan. How can Musharraf rail against Indian action in Kashmir?

Iqbal had advised the Mashud and Wazirris to unite. Musharraf is using the 'less' religious Mashud (according to Stratfor.com) against the more religious Waziri. Betrayal of Iqbal's message of unity.

See below demolition of homes, arrests and fines without any judicial process: Palestine or Pakistan?

Wednesday July 03, 2002-- Rabi-uss-Sani 21, 1423 A.H.
ISSN 1563-9479
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Courtesy News International, Pakistan

Operation against al-Qaeda men continues

By Rahimullah Yusufzai

PESHAWAR: Troops on Tuesday demolished the house of an absconding tribesman who had allegedly sheltered suspected al-Qaeda fighters in the South Waziristan tribal agency.

Eyewitnesses said a big contingent of Frontier Corps militiamen and Khassadar force dynamited the fort-like house in presence of civil and military officials. The 15-room house with a spacious courtyard, located in the Ghwa Khwa area near Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan, took a while before it was razed to the ground. The affected family had already removed its belonging from the house.

The house belonged to one Abdul Khaliq, a businessman from the Wazir tribe, who was accused of sheltering the suspected al-Qaeda men who killed 10 Pakistani soldiers and militiamen in a recent shootout in Kazha Panga village near Wana. Two al-Qaeda fighters were also killed and a third captured during the clash. Abdul Khaliq's house in Kazha Panga has already been demolished.

The troops have failed to nab Abdul Khaliq despite efforts over the past five days. On account of the government pressure, elders of Abdul Khaliq's Sarkikhel Wazir tribe agreed on Tuesday to hand over one of his cousins, Zaman Khan, to the authorities. As a result of an understanding between the tribal elders and government officials, Zaman Khan would remain in prison until Abdul Khaliq's surrender to the authorities.

Under government pressure, the Wazir tribal elders had earlier decided that any tribesman found sheltering al-Qaeda members would undergo imprisonment for five years and fined one million rupees. His house would also be demolished. Abdul Khaliq would have to suffer this punishment once he is captured.

Abdul Khaliq's relations and sympathisers argued that he had allowed Afghan refugees who were cultivating his agricultural land to live in his house in Kazha Panga. They said Abdul Khaliq was innocent because he was never told by his Afghan tenants that they had given refuge to the suspected al-Qaeda men.

The troops didn't launch any major search mission on Tuesday. However, it was learnt that stress was being laid on better intelligence-gathering before mounting any new military campaign in South Waziristan.

Until now, the armymen and militiamen haven't made any significant breakthrough in capturing the 32 suspected al-Qaeda fighters who escaped from Kazha Panga in the dark of the night after the shootout with the troops. US servicemen, who include CIA operatives and so-called telecommunication experts, were reportedly putting up in the vast Scouts Camp in Wana. Meanwhile, sections of the Wazir tribe have expressed concern over the US policy to recruit and arm non-Pashtun Afghan refugees and use them against the rebellious Pashtuns. They felt such a policy would trigger a backlash in future.

The seven members of the Tableeghi group who were arrested in Zarmelan Plains near the border with Afghanistan during the military operation were still behind the bars. The Tableeghis, accompanied by local tribesmen, were on a year-long preaching mission on foot, when they were caught on suspicion that they could be al-Qaeda members.
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2002-07-06 Sat 18:11ct