25 April 2004	Sunday	04 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

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SHAKAI, April 24: The government pardoned the five most wanted tribal militants on Saturday in return for their pledge to live peacefully and not use Pakistani soil against any other country.

The Corps Commander of Peshawar, Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain, however, gave foreign militants until April 30 to turn themselves over and 'register' themselves with the government and furnish guarantees of good conduct from their tribal hosts.

"Otherwise, I will be constrained to use force and resume military activity," he warned at the tribal jirga held here to mark the occasion.

Significantly, both the sides avoided using the word 'surrender' for the militants who, in a symbolic gesture of tribal tradition, presented a Kalashnikov rifle, a pistol and an old sword to the Corps Commander at a Madrassah here, about 17km from Wana, regional headquarters of South Waziristan.

Hundreds of people had assembled at the Jamia Arabia Ahsanul Madaris of Maulana Qari Ahmad Hassan in this small village, barely 40km from the Pakistan-Afghan border. The courtyard of the Madrassah was crammed as tribesmen frequently raised slogans of Allah-o-Akbar and Pakistan Zindabad.

Paramilitary troops of the Frontier Corps controlled the landing site of the army helicopters while armed tribal volunteers had taken up positions on the wall overlooking the compound.

Four of the five militants were present in person while the fifth was represented by his nephew.

Proceedings of the ceremony were delayed by hours, first by differences over the venue. The military authorities wanted it to be held at Shakai, a closed area, while the militants insisted it should be held in Azam Warsak.

Then came a report that a top militant, Nek Mohammad, was not willing to forgo his will to continue jihad and lastly, the reported presence of armed men in and around the venue of the meeting.

The militants, one by one, took turn to present 'gifts' which the ISPR spokesman later in Peshawar said were weapons 'presented' to Corps Commander Safdar.

An official insisted that the five men had surrendered but as per tribal traditions had presented four Kalashnikovs and a pistol as a symbol of their submission to the government.

The government had said that the militants had agreed to surrender but the militants and the Corps Commander in their speeches avoided using the term and instead referred to 'an agreement' reached between the two sides.

The verbal agreement brokered by two pro-Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal parliamentarians provides for clemency to the five militants on the condition that they would not indulge in any anti-state activity.

The issue of foreign militants, reportedly in hundreds by official account, however, remains mute. The official understanding is that foreign militants, including veterans of the Afghan jihad, who had married and lived in the area could stay there but they would have to get themselves registered with the authorities.

However, both Nek Mohammad and Maulvi Abbas in their private conversation with Dawn insisted that there were no foreigners in this tribal region.

"This is all propaganda," Nek asserted. "The only foreigners here are the Afghan refugees but there are about two million of them in the whole of Pakistan," remarked Maulvi Abbas.

The pro-MMA MNA, who had helped broker the deal, also told newsmen that there were no foreigners in the area. He said those who were there would give guarantees of good conduct. "They should be given the right to live," he told newsmen before the jirga.

Later, ISPR Director-General Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan told a news briefing that it was the result of reconciliation.

He claimed the militants had denounced militancy, promised good conduct and assured that they would not indulge in any militant activity.

Nek Mohammad and Maulvi Mohammad Abbas, two of the five most wanted men, in their speeches did not denounce militancy.

Later, Nek told Dawn in the small room of the compound that he would continue jihad. Visibly tense and nervous and at times jittery, the 27-year-old reiterated that the Taliban leader continued to be his supreme leader.

"He is the leader of all the Muslims and we must all follow him. He is the Amirul Momineen," he said.

An Uzbek holding a Kalashnikov and a walkie-talkie tucked in an upper pocket of his leather jacket stood guard on him.

In his speech, the Corps Commander, Peshawar, lauded the militants for, what he called, their courageous and wise decision in expressing their loyalty and sense of brotherhood, and hoped that it would further reinforce national solidarity.

The holding of the jirga, he said, had belied the propaganda of Shakai being a hotbed of miscreants.

Lt-Gen Safdar made a poignant remark when he said Afghans had piloted none of the planes that had crashed into the World Trade Centre, yet Afghanistan had to face the consequences for being a sanctuary of those who had planned the attack.

He said the Pakistan Army had successfully followed its strategy of securing its western borders to preempt the entry of any foreign military into the country, an obvious reference to the United States forces operating on the other side of the border.

"But if our own brothers weaken their own army in collusion with foreign terrorists and a situation is created then the foreign forces which had entered Iraq and Afghanistan might as well enter Pakistan. Yes, it will be a matter of shame for us."

Lt-Gen Safdar blamed the foreign militants for creating 'misunderstandings' between the government and the local tribesmen for their own vested interests. "The recent Wana operation was the result of the same misunderstandings," he maintained.

The Corps Commander reiterated President Gen Pervez Musharraf's offer of clemency to foreign militants who would give themselves up to the government and furnish guarantees of good conduct from their tribal hosts. "Then they would not be surrendered to any foreign country and allowed to live with the same dignity and respect as the locals."

He announced that 50 of the 163 people captured during the March operation near Wana were being released, and said those found innocent would be freed in the due course.

"I guarantee on behalf of the Pakistan Army that this agreement will be implemented fully. I also guarantee that the political authority will also fully respect the agreement," he announced. "I am a peaceful man and do not want any trouble," he remarked.

On the occasion, he announced a development package of Rs91 million (reported by Dawn on March 25), installation of television booster and a radio transmitter in the area.

In his speech, Nek Mohammad said both sides had made mistakes, and hoped they would avoid the recurrence of misunderstandings in future.

"Pakistan is our home. We are Pakistanis too. If we make a mistake, don't listen to others, ask us (about it) directly."

Maulvi Abbas said the two sides had reached an agreement and both were obligated to abide by it.

Tribal MNAs Maulana Abdul Malik and Mirajuddin hailed the agreement, and hoped it would usher in an era of peace in the area. They demanded more funds for development and release of the innocent.

Later, the ISPR spokesman said the army would remain deployed in the area to ensure elimination of foreign militants. He, however, said the number of foreign militants in the area now was far less than the previous 400 to 500 given by President Musharraf.

"We remain committed to the war on terror. There will be no reduction in the number of forces in the area and our forces will be ready to strike anywhere they get intelligence," he said. "Foreign elements must either surrender or get eliminated."

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