|
|
|
| 26 April 2004 | Monday | 05 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425 |
Tribesmen surrender weapons: 50 detainees freed in Wana
LANDI KOTAL, April 25: Elders of the Kukikhel tribe on Sunday voluntarily handed over a large quantity of arms and ammunition to government officials in response to a de-weaponization campaign launched in tribal areas.
The handing over ceremony was held at the Jamrud Fort and was attended by Commandant of the Khyber Rifles Colonel Riaz Shahid, Khyber Agency acting political agent Syed Ameeruddin, assistant political agent Jamrud Riaz Mehsood and a number of tribal elders.
The de-weaponization campaign was launched in November 2003. The weapons handed over included three Sheligan guns, two 75mm recoilless rifles, three 82mm mortars, eight RPG-7 rocket launchers, three 8mm machine-guns, one light machine-gun, two Deengar machine-gun, 425 rounds of 12.7mm API, 85 pcs 12.7mm APIT rounds, 88 pcs 75mm high explosive anti-aircraft rounds, 16 75mm anti-tank explosives, 16 75mm high explosives, 448 pcs 88mm mortars, 12 anti-personnel mines, 10 Mark three mines tank, one anti-tank Mark one, 15 RPG-7 anti-tank launchers, 97 107mm high explosive rockets, six 122mm fuse, three 107mm smoke rockets, 100 107mm rocket fuse, six fine M27 missile, eight 9m war head missile, 11 82mm mortars and 10 Russian anti-personnel mines.
Speaking on the occasion, Col Riaz Shahid thanked the Kukikhel tribesmen to help collect such a huge quantity of weapons in a short time. He made it clear that the government would not collect light weapons from the tribesmen as it was part of their traditional life.
He also assured tribesmen that the administration would not resort to use of force for the collection of weapons and would persuade the tribesmen to hand over them voluntarily.
Col Shahid announced that more tribesmen would be inducted into the armed forces and Frontier Corps in order to compensate them for voluntary arms collection. He dispelled the impression that the collected weapons were outdated and said that all weapons were of genuine quality which would be put to test if required.
Meanwhile, AFP quoting officials reported that Pakistani authorities released 50 people on Sunday a day after granting amnesty to five tribal members accused of sheltering Al-Qaeda fighters near the Afghan border. "They were freed today and left for their hometowns," security chief of the tribal area Brigadier Mahmud Shah told AFP.
They were detained in a bloody operation against Al-Qaeda suspects and their hideouts in South Waziristan last month. The operation left 124 people dead including 46 troops and 63 militants. At least 15 civilians also died in the clashes with militants resisting the operation in March.
More than 163 people were rounded up and officials said 50 of them were found innocent. Others found innocent would also be freed later, they said. The release was part of a deal under which the authorities pardoned five top suspects on Saturday.
Military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said the wanted men from the Zalikhel clan had renounced militant activity, promised loyalty to the country and pledged not to harbour foreign terrorists. He said the political solution to end militant activity in the area was worked out by local deputies, tribal elders, administration officials and military authorities.
Their tribe has also given assurances about the wanted men's good conduct in future, he added. General Sultan denied the amnesty marked a shift in government policy. "This reconciliation does not indicate any let up in the government's war on terror," he told reporters.
"The security forces will be ready to strike anywhere whenever they get intelligence," he said, reiterating that foreign militants must surrender by Friday otherwise the military would take action against them. "There will be no compromise on foreign nationals." He said Al-Qaeda elements were on the run as their stronghold in the tribal belt had been destroyed in the 12-day March operation.
Residents said life returned to normal in South Waziristan's main town Wana and business activity resumed after remaining suspended for several weeks. "It's a festive atmosphere, there is great enthusiasm among the traders," shopkeeper Ashiq Hussain told AFP.
"This is one of the happiest days seen here for a long time. We had mental tension and business was dull, now life is back to normal," he said. Local tribesmen refused to characterise the agreement as a defeat or victory for either side.
"We don't see loser or winner, we see the problem is over and the government is satisfied," Wana resident Remal Khan said. Witnesses said some 40 shopkeepers were cleaning their shops after several weeks of closure.
About a dozen families who had fled the military operation were also back in the town. Local MP Abdul Malik who participated in the mediation said the five people granted amnesty on Saturday left for their home town of Kaloosha.
|
|
|
|