Waziristan tribals protest U.S. presence

Thousands of tribals in North Waziristan Agency yesterday threatened armed resistance against the government decision to allow joint raids by Pakistani and U.S. forces on religious institutions in pursuit of Taliban and Al Qaida members.

"We will not allow the religious institutions to be desecrated by US and Pakistani commandos in the guise of search for wanted Taliban and al-Qaida members," Maulana Muhammed Dindar told the armed gathering at a religious school in Eddak.

Dindar is former MNA and Jamaat-Ulema-Islami (Fazlur Rehman) chief for North Waziristan Agency. The party was in the forefront of the pro-Taliban campaign when the U.S. launched its bombing campaign.

Eyewitnesses said thousands of tribals turned up at the meeting, which soon became a public gathering due to overwhelming participation of local tribesmen.

The gathering, usually referred to as a Jirga, announced they would resist raids by Pakistani and U.S. commandos on the religious institutes and warned the government of repercussions if raids were carried out in future.

The decision, which was announced through the public address system also condemned the joint raids on the religious school owned by former mujahideen leader and Taliban minister, Jalaluddin Haqqani at Dandi Darpakhel area of the agency.

Participants of the public meeting chanted slogans against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and the U.S. government and displayed heavy weapons. The gathering said that local tribesmen would not object to inspection and inquiries of religious schools by the agency administration in consultation with the tribal elders.

The assembly, however, assured that no wanted person would be provided shelter in the tribal area and any one doing so would be held accountable under the tribal code of governance.

Elders from all the tribes living in North Waziristan, local said, took part in the meeting and endorsed the decision of the ulema and tribal elders, a day after a tribal gathering on Friday.

Apart from tribal elders representing different clans and sub-tribes, the majority of the participants were students from religious schools and activists of religious parties.

The speakers demanded that government should take action against those involved in the missile attack on the base of the American commandos in North Waziristan, which damaged the boundary wall of Government Degree College in Miranshah.

Situation in the agency is tense due to the increased movements of the personnel of Pakistan special forces and presence of US forces on both side of the Pak-Afghan border.

Pakistan has deputed more troops at the check posts in the agency to enhance vigilance in the border areas as part of the planning to arrest suspected Al Qaida and Taliban fighters on entry into Pakistan.

Authorities in Kurram Agency arrested 156 suspected Al Qaida fighters after they escaped from the Tora Boora mountains south of Jalalabad due to heavy U.S. bombing.