February 3, 2006	Friday	Muharram 4, 1427

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LANDI KOTAL, Feb 2: Faced with mounting pressure, Pir Saifur Rehman, one of the two clerics responsible for creating sectarian discord through their illegal FM channels, finally bade farewell and left the Khyber tribal region on Thursday, an official told Dawn.

“The Pir has left,” confirmed the assistant political agent, Bara, Mutahhar Zeb, on the telephone. It may be mentioned here that Bara is a sub-district of the Khyber tribal region, barely 11 km from Peshawar.

He said that Pir Saifur Rehman left along with his 28 supporters, all from the Punjab.

The Pir’s supporters had been detained by the authorities concerned to put pressure on the cleric to leave the region.

Pir Saifur Rehman, an Afghan by nationality, had been residing in Bara since 1977 and had developed quite a following among and influence on the people of the region.

He, however, rose to prominence when he set up an FM radio transmitter and began preaching. It needs to be mentioned here that he belongs to a particular school of thought.

The authorities are now focusing on Mufti Munir Shakir, another cleric from a different school of thought, who like his rival, too was an outsider and came from Karak district.

Mr Mukhtar said: “His fate will not by any different.” He further said that they would now ask Mufti Shakir, who also operates an illegal FM channel for preaching his sermons, to leave.

He said: “This, hopefully, will also come about in a day or two.”

Tension had been simmering in the Khyber tribal region where the authorities concerned had served notices on both the clerics to leave the tribal region.

Officials and eyewitnesses said that paramilitary forces and Khasadars have now been moved from Pir Saifur Rehman’s previous abode to Mufti Munir Shakir’s residential compound.

The two clerics gave verbal tirades against each other, making use of the airways, whose transmission could also be heard in the areas of Peshawar, close to the tribal region.

The verbal sermons would turn foul and abusive at times. However, it had also bitterly divided the Afridi clan, whose armed supporters would rally around their respective clerics.

A defiant Mufti Munir Shakir, however, refused to leave. In a broadcast on his illegal FM channel, the Mufti declared that while “the evil” — an allusion to Pir Saifur Rehman — would leave, “the good” (himself) would stay behind.

The administration on Wednesday had arrested 28 supporters of Pir Saifur Rehman and moved the Khyber Rifles, Mehsud Scouts and Khasadar Force ahead of an impending action.

The administration had already detained 10 supporters from the two sides as part of the action to force the tribes supporting the two clerics, who had come to the tribal region from other locations, to withdraw their support.

A grand jirga of the seven sub-tribes of the Afridi tribe on the government’s prodding on Tuesday had vowed that they would expel the two religious leaders who they said were operating illegal FM radio stations and giving decrees against each other to disturb peace in the Khyber Agency.

The Jirga assured the political authorities in writing that they would proceed against the two non-local religious leaders, Mufti Munir Shakir and Pir Saifur Rehman, and expel them from the agency.

The Jirga was also attended by officials of the political administration, who, insiders said, assured tribesmen that they would be provided security in case action was taken against the two leaders.

Sources said that the political administration mobilized paramilitary forces, including Khyber Rifles, Mahsud Scouts and Khasadar Force, from Jamrud and Landi Kotal towards Bara.