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Authorities revive tribal militias to counter Islamists
Pakistani authorities are encouraging Pashtun tribesmen on the Afghan border to revive traditional militias to counter rising Islamist militancy but analysts fear the move could backfire if not properly handled.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:08 October 25, 2008
Peshawar: Pakistani authorities are encouraging Pashtun tribesmen on the Afghan border to revive traditional militias to counter rising Islamist militancy but analysts fear the move could backfire if not properly handled.
Under a centuries-old tradition, ethnic Pashtun tribes raise militias, known as lashkars, in their semi-autonomous regions to fight criminal gangs and enforce their tribal codes.
Pakistan, a front-line US ally against Al Qaida and Taliban militants, has been under tremendous US pressure to root out Taliban and Al Qaida militants responsible for rising violence in Afghanistan as well as in Pakistan.
The Pakistani military has sent more than 80,000 troops to the northwestern Pashtun lands along the Afghan border and launched offensives in two areas in August.
Authorities are now nudging the fiercely independent tribesmen, who carry guns as a symbol of honour, to raise their lashkars to reinforce the military's efforts.
"Now the Pashtun people themselves have risen against those who have turned their lives into hell," said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister of North Western Frontier Province. Pakistani officials say they plan to supply assault rifles to thousands of tribesmen to fight the militants.
The strategy of supporting tribal militias to evict militants bears a parallel with the Awakening Council movement in Iraq, in which Sunni tribesmen have risen against Al Qaida and driven them from their neighbourhoods with help from the US military.
Last month, a lashkar of about 3,000 men was organised in the Bajaur region, a militant sanctuary where security forces launched a major offensive in August. The lashkar began to take action against the militants early this month, demolishing houses of many militants, including that of Maulvi Omar, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban.
Several areas have been cleared of militants, said Malik Bacha Zain, a pro-government tribal elder.
Similar lashkars are being raised in the Orakzai and Darra Adam Kheil tribal regions as well as in the Swat Valley northwest of Islamabad.
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