WANA, Sept 11: Thousands of people turned up at Dela in South Waziristan Agency to observed the first anniversary of the people killed in aerial bombing by fighter jets on suspected militant training camp. Witnesses said that over 4,000 tribesmen, supporters and sympathizers converged at the place which had been bombed on September 9 last year. Forty-five people were killed in the bombing.
The gathering was addressed among others by MMA leader Maulana Merajuddin and militant commander Baitullah Mehsud.
Maulana Merajuddin, a cleric from the Mehsud area of the South Waziristan Agency, came down heavily on President Gen Pervez Musharraf whom he accused of helping the US topple the Taliban regime and killing innocent civilians in Afghanistan.
Baitullah Mehsud, a once-most wanted militant who later signed a peace deal with the government, said he had been ordered by the Taliban supremo Mullah Omar not to fight the Pakistan Army.
He claimed that Mullah Omar had told him that fighting the Pakistan Army tantamount to harming the Ummah.
He pledged to abide by the peace deal and said that his men would not fight the army so long as they were not harassed or attacked. He clarified that his attempt to restore peace and take on anti-social elements and criminals was not aimed at setting up a parallel administration.
He declared that he would not let any non-governmental organization work in the tribal territory.
Maulana Naseeb Khan, a cleric from North Waziristan, said that those who sided with the government against militants or spied for the US were liable to be killed.
IFAD: Official sources told Dawn that 15 people working for the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) in Wana have resigned due to risks to their lives.
The officials said that the resignation following threats from militants and the snatching of their vehicle sometimes back. The vehicle is now said to be with militant commander Baitullah Mehsud.
IFAD’s social organiser Faiz Mohammad denied that his staff had resigned but admitted that female workers did leave their jobs after threats from militants.—Correspondent
