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| December 25, 2001 | Tuesday | Shawwal 9, 1422 |
Many Al-Qaeda men in tribal areas
PESHAWAR, Dec 24: A large number of Al-Qaeda fighters, including some top lieutenants of Osama bin Laden, have crossed into Pakistani tribal areas after the US started airstrikes on the caves in Tora Bora, informed sources told Dawn.
Local tribesmen also confirmed the presence of a large number of Arabs and other foreign fighters of Al-Qaeda in Dari, Ghalju, Mishti Mela, Zargari, Dogar, Tirah and some other areas of Kurram, Khyber and Orakzai agencies. Commonly known as inaccessible, the areas had become safe haven for Osama’s companions having full support of some religious zealots of the agencies, they added.
The sources said that some foreigners had crossed into the tribal territory from Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province even before the deployment of the Pakistan army in the tribal belt bordering the war-torn country. An official of a secret agency also confirmed the presence of Al-Qaeda activists in the areas.
“Many Arabs had left Tora Bora before the US military started its operation in the mountainous region. A very small number of foreign fighters were there during the three-week-long bombardment on the caves,” informed a tribesman, hailing from the Tander village of Para Chamkani, located along the Pakistan-Afghan border.
On the condition of anonymity, he claimed to have witnessed foreigners entering the Pakistani tribal areas via Daradar, Kanakai and Tander, situated at the foothills of Spin Ghar (White Mountain), in the first week of Ramazan. “One day, I saw more than 500 foreigners, most of them Arabs, who were staying in a Madressah in Gandab, Para Chamkani,” one witness said.
He said locals had robbed many Arabs in Gandab, which led to clashes between Mengal and other tribes in Para Chamkani. Many people were killed in the dispute, while a number of houses of the Mengal tribesmen were also set on fire in Daradar, Para Chamkani, he claimed.
The sources said Nangarhar’s former governor Maulvi Abdul Kabir, who enjoyed good relations with tribal elders, had made all arrangements to provide shelter to these fighters. Later, Mr Kabir, along with other Taliban, entered Pakistan via Kanakai, they added.
The administration of the Kurram Agency had taken a retired Subaidar of the Frontier Corps and his brother into custody for interrogation, on the charge of guiding the governor and his companions through a safe passage to cross the border, the sources said.
They also said the local tribesmen had handed over more than 100 Al-Qaeda activists to the political authorities of Kurram Agency on Dec 18. A local of Tander told this scribe that these Arabs had been living in the area for one month.
A truck driver, who claimed to have transported the Arab suspects to a sub-jail in Parachinar in his vehicle, also confirmed the report. He said that at the time of handing them over to the administration, the tribal hosts had told the Arabs that they were being shifted to some other hideout.
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