Militias impose Taliban rule on Afghan border

Islamabad: Taliban militias in Pakistan have set up offices, introduced taxes and taken control of justice in the tribal agency of North Waziristan, where last month the government signed a peace agreement with militants.

In violation of the agreement, a Taliban shura, or council, distributed pamphlets of its policies at the weekend, while militants have begun to patrol the area's streets and have already killed numerous "American spies".

A "tax schedule" detailed how businesses are liable to pay charges to the Taliban. Trucks entering the agency will pay for a six-month pass and petrol-pump owners will have to make contributions to the council. The taxes were described as a "donation" in the pamphlet.

The deal signed by the government on September 5 stipulated that Al Qaida fighters were to be expelled from North Waziristan and pro-Taliban militants were not to run a "parallel administration" or take part in fighting against coalition forces across the border.

In return, Pakistani forces, who had been fighting local militants over the summer, withdrew from combat. The army retained the right to launch strikes in the area if militants do not adhere to the deal.

It was later discovered by Pakistani journalists that the deal was signed with wanted militants and not with tribal elders, as was officially claimed. Pakistani officials hoped the deal would empower tribal elders to control militants in their region but an estimated 120 of them have been murdered in the past year.

Following the withdrawal of the army, a power vacuum has been filled by mullahs and their long-haired, bearded, AK47-toting militants.

According to Pakistani reporters, some of the militants wear badges that read: "Appointed by the office of the Taliban, the mujahideen of the North Waziristan Agency".

Power is now in the hands of a so-called "mullahcracy" and people who President Pervez Musharraf recently dismissed as "charasi", or hashish-smoking, Taliban - thugs who use the Taliban's mantle to coerce locals.

Maulana Abdul Khaliq Haqqani, a member of North Waziristan's Taliban shura, said his followers were abiding by the pact.

But he said they still offered "moral support" to those fighting in Afghanistan.

"There is no doubt that we support this jihad against infidels, against these Christians who have invaded a Muslim land."

Instead of crossing from Waziristan, fighters continue to cross into Afghanistan from other areas. A fighter from North Waziristan said: "If you can't go into Afghanistan from Waziristan, you can go from other areas. There are many, many other ways to go".

Nato officials in Afghanistan said militant activity has increased 300 per cent in the border regions since the pact was signed.

Under the peace accord mediated by a council of tribal elders, militants pledged not to attack security forces and state property and to stop cross-border movement for raids in Afghanistan.

Foreign militants were to leave the area or, if they could not, they should disarm and live peacefully according to the law of the land. The government had released arrested tribesmen and had agreed not to launch any ground or air operations.

The militants also said they would not engage in any target killing of tribal elders or any other person and under the accord the writ of the state shall prevail in the region.

The peace pact was generally welcomed in the country, but fears had also been expressed that the peace deal has given a boost to the influence and standing of the local Taliban.

- With inputs from our correspondent