Still nothing
Pakistan once again tries to capture Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden with American help, reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad
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A Shia Muslim beats his head with a sword to mourn the death of his spiritual leader Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohamed at a Muharram procession in Karachi, Pakistan, hours before an explosion went off in the northwestern Pakistani city of Quetta killing 40 and injuring 120. The city is under indefinite curfew (photo: AP)
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Last week Pakistani troops made yet another attempt at capturing Osama Bin Laden and other Al-Qa'eda leaders believed to be hiding in the country's northern tribal belt. Their operation could be considered as both a success and a failure, for it managed to net some 25 suspected foreign militants but on the other hand failed to capture Bin Laden or any other senior fugitives. In addition the search aggravated local resentment.
South Waziristan is one of the seven agencies in Pakistan's North Western Frontier Province that borders Afghanistan. A strongly autonomous area -- the Pakistani army entered the region for the first time ever after 11 September 2001 -- it is also deeply conservative, hence the suspicion by many analysts, as well as the Americans, that Osama Bin Laden, Mullah Omar and other Al-Qa'eda leaders could be hiding there.
Prior to the operation, some newspapers claimed that American and British intelligence had narrowed the search for Osama Bin Laden's shelter to a small area of some 16 square kilometres in South Waziristan. Many believe last week's operation was carried out in response to these intelligence findings: believing they had pinpointed Bin Laden's whereabouts, the authorities decided to hunt him out. The Pakistanis however, deny this, dismissing the reports as "totally baseless".
Army spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said the operation was launched as part of a new strategy. In January tribal elders were handed a list of Pakistanis suspected of sheltering foreign terrorists. They were given a deadline of 20 February to hand them over. Sultan told newsmen that by 20 February most of the wanted men had been handed over but that there were no foreign terrorists among them. Emphasising that anyone involved in terrorism was "wanted", he said the passage of the deadline without full compliance by the tribal leaders was what prompted military action.
There is, however, another possible motive for the operation. As presidential elections in the United States inch closer, George W Bush would receive a massive boost if he could show that the war on terror -- to date regarded as a flop -- had captured Bin Laden, whether dead or alive. Undoubtedly the keen desire of Washington to apprehend the Saudi dissident before November 2004 has been communicated to the Musharraf government. American pressure could well have encouraged the Pakistanis to be more pro-active in seeking out the Al-Qa'eda leader.
The operation was carried out by hundreds of men from the Frontier Constabulary, the army and from Pakistan's elite Special Services Group. The men on the ground were supported by helicopter gunships. They surrounded a number of villages in the South Waziristan agency. A house-to-house search was carried out, netting 25 foreign suspects as well as weapons, ammunition, audio-cassettes, passports and other documents.
Sultan told newsmen that, "there were no casualties on either side." However, the army demolished three homes after local tribesmen who owned them refused to cooperate. Following tribal custom, several houses were blasted because the owners had been found to be sheltering foreign militants.
The suspects captured in the operation included Saudi, Egyptian and Yemeni nationals and also a number of women believed to be Kazakhs. Interrogation of the detainees began almost immediately. Reports began circulating that Ayman Al- Zawahiri's son was among the captives, but this appears to have been ruled out by the Pakistanis.
Nonetheless, Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat pointed out, "it is always difficult to establish the identity of terrorists, especially if they are members of Al-Qa'eda, because they are well-trained and keep changing their statements. We hope that the investigations of the people who were arrested will help to find clues about Bin Laden. These investigations are being carried out to reach other terrorists -- if they are hiding in Pakistan." His words indicate that the Pakistanis see Tuesday's operation as essentially a part of a wider offensive against terrorists operating from or sheltering in Pakistan.
The military operation in South Waziristan did not simply occur out of the blue: rumours about it had been circulating for some time. There had been concern in Pakistan that the operation would involve American troops. The news that it was solely conducted by Pakistanis was therefore greeted with relief. Nonetheless, criticism of the Musharraf government for bowing to American demands was rife. An Urdu-language newspaper predicted that the South Waziristan operation, "will certainly promote unrest and distrust in the area, as well as throughout the country. It is a strange situation that our government has been submitting easily to each and every demand of the US, without the slightest hesitation [and] without taking heed of national interests and the sentiments of the people."
Those words could prove prophetic. Follow- up operations, albeit on a smaller scale, have continued since the main operation on Tuesday. On Saturday night an army post in South Waziristan came under mortar attack. On Sunday a vehicle carrying suspected terrorists was reported to be heading towards an army checkpoint and when the vehicle failed to stop, soldiers opened fire on it. Initial reports indicate that the terror suspects got away, but 13 people in the vehicles behind it were killed. All those killed were civilian locals or Afghan refugees. They include a 14-year-old boy.
South Waziristan's political agent has ordered an inquiry into what happened and has reportedly announced that the victims' families will receive compensation. But the incident has provoked strong resentment in a population that already feels resentful at the Pakistani army's violation of its autonomy and at the Pakistani government's support for America. Thousands of angry tribal members gathered at the funeral prayers of the victims.
Such sentiment in South Waziristan will not make it easier to capture Bin Laden.
