For
now, tensions have been defused in the region by an apparent agreement between
US and Pakistani forces on closer communications between the border commands
on both sides of the divide. The hope is that the immediate transfer of information
will facilitate the capture of fleeing fighters. However, sources in South
Waziristan Agency cast doubt on the practicality of this arrangement, maintaining
that it is inevitable that US forces will continue to cross the border in
hot pursuit.
They
also cast doubt on the official version of events that precipitated last
week's gun battle. Although media reports suggest that only one US soldier
was injured, credible sources in Pakistan intelligence suggest to this correspondent
that actually several US soldiers died in the clash and more were injured.
(Terry White, the spokesperson for the US Embassy In Islamabad, said on Thursday
that he had no information about the incident beyond the official US military
statement describing a single US soldier wounded.)
An
account of the clash dug out by this correspondent on the basis of telephone
conversations with tribal elders in South Waziristan Agency and Pakistan
intelligence shows that the issue may not have been as simple as some have
previously suggested. The account suggests, first, that US forces may have
been used by feuding local Waziri religious leaders in an attempt at score-settling.
Second, it also suggests that tempers may have been inflamed to the point
where the current fighting in Afghanistan risks spilling over into the border
areas, adding to the pressure on the government of Pakistani (self made)
President General Pervez Musharraf and possibly setting off a crisis in his
government.
Angoor
Adda, the location of last week's clash, is a border town about 65 kilometers
from Wana, the district headquarters of the South Waziristan Agency of the
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), in the west of Pakistan. South
Waziristan, which comprises about 6,500 square kilometers, is the most sensitive
agency of Pakistan; it is not under the direct administration of the government
of Pakistan, but indirectly governed by a political agent - a system that
was enforced by the British rulers. Wana is situated about halfway between
and 500 kilometers from both Quetta (provincial capital of Balochistan province)
and Peshawar (provincial capital of the North West Frontier Province). Economically,
Wana is a key city, being the most feasible transit station for a proposed
gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to India and also a likely connection along
any pipeline route from Central Asia to the coastal areas of Pakistan.
Inhabiting
this region are the Waziris, reputedly one of the most dangerous and warlike
tribes living along the Afghan-Pakistani border. The Waziri tribes have maintained
close relations for centuries with other Waziris residing in Afghanistan.
There are nine clans of Wazir tribes, with the biggest clan being Zali Khel,
famed for its armed resistance to the British army in the 19th century. Possession
of modern weapons is the old tradition of these tribes, as is use of heavy
weapons - including mortars - in ordinary fighting between rival clans.
Another
old tradition is the ease of travel - people of all clans come and go into
each other's area and have never followed visa regulations. In fact, to them,
the rules and regulations do not exist. Tribals from Afghanistan often come
into the Pakistani area for trade, make camp and live for months. Some of
the people come for other reasons, like weather conditions. The appearance
of the Waziri tribe on each sides of the divide is the same; nobody can identify
who is Pakistani and who is Afghan.
Thus
it was no surprise that, after the US attack on Afghanistan in late 2001,
US intelligence gathered reports that lashkars (guerrilla fighting groups)
were frequently using the South Waziristan Agency to cross the border from
Pakistan to Afghanistan and vice versa. Due to the frequent movement of the
tribes, as per their traditions, it was hard to make a distinction between
combatants and non-combatants.
In
response, operatives of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) established
a network of spies on both sides of the divide. In the Pakistani area, they
targeted as agents politicians, security forces and clerics. Political agents
and security personnel are bound to cooperate with the FBI, but there are
few clerics who were swayed by US pressure; most clerics in the agency still
maintain a strong anti-US stance.
Initial
media reports on last week's incident indicated that Pakistani scouts exchanged
fire with allied troops deployed in Afghanistan just across the border from
Angoor Adda. These initial reports had maintained that the firing started
after a militia checkpost in Pakistani territory came under rocket fire from
across the border, fire which lasted about two hours and produced no casualties.
It did, however, attract the attention of allied helicopters and aircraft
that circled the area throughout the day, giving rise to fears that an air
raid might follow.
Following
a heavy exchange of gunfire between Pakistani and US troops, about eight
allied soldiers were severely injured, eyewitnesses said. Later, US aircraft
bombed one madrassa and an adjacent mosque, killing two Pakistanis. Just
after the incident, Pakistan raised the numbers of its forces in the area,
while US troops also took forward positions. To ease the tension, a meeting
of the high commands of the Pakistani army and US forces in Bagram (a district
of Afghanistan near Kabul) was held on January 4, at which it was decided
that US forces would not enter into Pakistani areas and that instead, Pakistan
will eliminate the terrorists itself.
Reports
indicate that the battle was actually related to an ongoing feud between
the leaders of two rival madrassas in the agency. The administrator of one
of the madrassas, Maulvi Shakirullah, is pro-US, while the other, Maulana
Mohammed Hassan, is not. Maulvi Shakirullah has a close relation with US
troops in the adjacent Afghan border areas and is a frequent host of US commanders
at his madrassa. He also did dastarbandi for them. (Dastarbandi is a local
tradition of winding a turban to signify respect and acceptance of command.)
Maulvi
Shakirullah informed US forces that his rival, Maulana Muhammad Hassan, was
a supporter of anti-US elements in the area and that he provided shelter
to those who were attacking US positions in the Afghan province of Paktika
adjacent to the border.
US
forces tried at various times to seal Hassan's madrassa but the Pakistani
command in the area always resisted. Last year, US and allied forces conducted
a search operation in the same area, which resulted in heavy casualties.
According to locals, the operation resulted in the deaths of more than 30
Pakistani troopers - including a captain of the Pakistani army - in an exchange
of fire with angered local tribes. At that time, however, there were no reports
of US injuries.
On
the day of the most recent incident, the Pakistani local command had pointed
out the location of four mortars to its US counterpart in the Afghan area.
After defusing the mortars, the US command insisted on conducting a weapons
search in the Pakistani area and asked the Pakistani army to provide an escort
for that purpose. The request was refused by the Pakistani side.
Furthermore,
the Pakistani side rejected allegations from US troops that infiltrators
had crossed the Pakistani border. During an exchange of hot words, a scout
from the Pakistani side lost his temper and started firing on the US troops,
injuring more than eight, eyewitnesses said.
The
US forces then called in air support, and US bomber aircraft shelled targets,
including Hassan's madrassa and an adjacent mosque. However, there were no
reported casualties, as the hostels of the madrassa were vacant due to winter
vacations.
It
is not the first time US forces have been used in the settling of old scores
in Afghanistan. During the carpet bombing of Tora Bora, US and allied forces
were forced to trust the information of local agents who provided information
through satellite phones to the US command about the movement of Taliban
and al-Qaeda forces. In many cases, this information proved false or an attempt
to settle scores against old enemies.
The
US army has a circle of its supporters in the area, having formally recruited
more than 80 Waziri tribesmen from the Pakistani area for night duty to protect
their camps. These tribesmen are paid at a rate of US$200 a month, and several
have been hired as agents to note the movement of Taliban and their supporters.
Sources
say that in the context of growing guerilla activities in Khost, Afghanistan,
where every day brings another strike against US military bases and convoys,
it is inevitable that fighters will cross the porous borders and enter Pakistan.
And it will also be inevitable that US forces will pursue these elements
into Pakistan in hot pursuit.
But
now there is complete unrest in the area due to the bombing of a madrassa
and a mosque - the most respected thing for Muslims. Any time, this unrest
could be translated into a severe uprising - as now anti-US forces have political
cover in the form of the local Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal party whose power
base is in west Pakistan.
By Syed Saleem Shahzad