January 23, 2006	Monday	Zilhaj 22, 1426

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NEW YORK, Jan 22: Two years after the Pakistani Army began operations in tribal border areas to root out members of Al Qaeda and other foreign militants, Pakistani officials who know the area say the military campaign is bogged down, the local political administration is powerless and the militants are stronger than ever, said the New York Times on Sunday.

According to the newspaper, the officials said the militants had been joined by possibly hundreds of foreign militants from Arab countries, Central Asia and the Caucasus, who present a continuing threat to the authorities within the region.

The tribal areas are off-limits to foreign journalists, but Pakistani officials, and former residents who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution, told the New York Times the militants — who call themselves Taliban — now dispensed their own justice, ran their own jails, robbed banks, shelled military and civilian government compounds and attacked convoys at will. They are recruiting men from the local tribes and have gained a hold over the population through a mix of fear and religion, the officials and former residents said.

An American military official in Afghanistan, in an e-mail response to questions about Pakistan’s tribal areas, was quoted as saying that “I believe this region is going through a period of revolutionary change in which moderates and extremists fight for the future of their nations. And with vast, lawless areas in which Taliban-style justice holds sway, Pakistan faces serious challenges.”