26 September 2004	Sunday	10 Shaban 1425

PESHAWAR, Sept 25: The Waziristan Students Federation (WSF) on Saturday set immediate withdrawal of army from South Waziristan Agency as a precondition for the success of ongoing negotiation process on the question of Wana.

Speaking at a joint press conference, WSF leaders Muhammad Asghar Mehsud, Akhtarullah Mehsud, Sabirur Rehman Wazir, Noor Muhammad Wazir, Akhtar Ali Wazir and Muhammad Salim Wazir said that while on the one hand the government had engaged tribal elders in talks, it was also bombing the houses of innocent tribesmen, on the other.

They said this would bring no peace in the area. They said that lack of coordination between the army and political administration had made the crisis even worse, as the local administration was not sincere in solving the issue amicably.

The tribesmen, they said, would not allow the construction of army installations near villages and would oppose it at all cost. They said the problem had been mishandled from day one as no effort was made to solve it through tribal customs.

They alleged that foreign militants had infiltrated into the agency because of the failure of government's intelligence network and tribesmen were not to blame for this. They said that since the days of Gen Zia, the government the US trained these elements to fight in Afghanistan.

They said there was no personal liability on tribesmen for 'external border' under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) as anyone could cross the long, porous border and the people of the agency were not responsible for their stay there.

They said that innocent people, including women and children, were killed during the operation and a large number of people had migrated to other parts of the country.

They said the economic blockade had ruined tribesmen economically, a blatant action on the part of the government. They said that militants wanted to create resentment among tribesmen against the army while the latter's actions were serving that very purpose.

They said the army had not even penetrated 5 per cent of the agency area and it was very difficult for it to capture through force its treacherous terrains. They said that for unknown reasons the media was not allowed to report on the actual situation there and "we demand that the media be allowed to report independently."

They criticized those political parties who they said were exploiting the Wana situation for political gains.