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| May 24, 2006 | Wednesday | Rabi-us-Sani 25, 1427 |
Crackdown on Mufti’s supporters in Bara planned
LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), May 23: The Khyber Agency political administration is contemplating a crackdown on supporters of Mufti Munir Shakir and anti-social elements in Bara sub-division.
The newly-appointed administrator of Khyber Agency, Dr Tashfeen, told Dawn that the intended crackdown had been necessitated after reports of armed patrolling by supporters of Mufti Shakir and a surge in kidnapping incidents in Bara.
The people had lost confidence in the administration and the crackdown was aimed at restoring writ of the administration and confidence of the people, he said.
Visibly not happy with the prevailing situation in Bara, he regretted that the administration had lost support of certain tribal elders who had been instrumental in maintaining peace in the area. “We want to again secure their support,” he said.
Dr Tashfeen said that the appointment of the new NWFP governor might delay the crackdown. “I am not aware of the policies of the new governor,” he said.
He said that besides a clean-up operation, the formation of a peace committee comprising local elders was his priority.
The Bara Peace Committee was disbanded after armed clashes between the supporters of Mufti Shakir and Pir Saifur Rehman which left at least 32 people dead and nearly two dozen injured in March.
The Mufti’s supporters have resumed their activities in Bara and in a latest broadcast on his illegal FM radio station monitored in Bara and Landi Kotal, the self-proclaimed Amir of the Lashkar-i-Islami, Haji Mangal Bagh, has urged men in the area to grow beard and refrain from cooperating with the political authorities.
It is learnt that Mangal Bagh asked the Zakhakhel elders not to attend an official jirga during the visit of the NWFP governor to Landi Kotal on May 20. None of the Zakhakhel elders turned up at the jirga.
At present, Mangal Bagh with his armed band is living in Gogrina village of Bazaar sub-tehsil.
Sources in the Khyber House said that the new political agent was busy collecting information about the activities of the Lashkar-i-Islami and some outlaws.
They said that the new administration had asked for additional force and was awaiting a go ahead signal for the proposed crackdown from the higher authorities.
HOSTAGES: Meanwhile, at least eight people, including a class nine student, are in the captivity of kidnappers in Bara.
It is generally believed that two gangs of outlaws, headed by Yaghistan and Badeel Khan, are behind most incidents of kidnapping.
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