Taliban Militants Drain Life from Pakistani City

Pro-Taliban militants gain ground, drain life from once prosperous Pakistani city

The Associated Press.
Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/13/asia/AS-GEN-Pakistan-Talibanization.php

TANK, Pakistan: Pro-Taliban militants have transformed a once-bustling community in northwestern Pakistan into a desolate city under siege.

After militant raids on government buildings, businesses and a school, Tank's dusty streets and bazaars are largely empty and gunfire rings out at night. A tribal elder and opposition politician estimates that one-third of residents have fled to other areas.

"The government has lost its writ in Tank," said Sardar Ahmed Gul, who keeps a loaded Chinese-made pistol at hand. "Every evening there is shooting and people cannot go out."

The government's crumbling authority over towns like Tank in the North West Frontier Province suggests that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf is failing to rein in extremism as Islamic militants broaden their influence beyond the lawless regions that border Afghanistan.

It also raises questions about the prospects of success for Washington's anti-terrorism efforts in the region, where al-Qaida leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri are believed to be hiding.

Observers blame the uptick in violence in Tank, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) from the Afghan border, on fighters filtering in from South Waziristan, a militant stronghold on the frontier where the government has little control.

On March 28, scores of militants attacked government buildings and businesses for several hours, killing one soldier and kidnapping a high school principal who had tried to stop them from recruiting students. He was freed, but the violence persisted — last month, about 100 militants attacked a government official's house, killing 13 people.

Pakistan's army also has come under attack; three bombings since January have killed at least six soldiers.

Now, Tank is becoming a virtual no-go zone, even for its 150,000 residents, and the fear is that it and other nearby districts are slipping into the orbit of Islamic fundamentalists who have issued Taliban-style social edicts and set up their own courts in the tribal areas.

Extremists have warned barbers not to shave customers' beards and bombed shops selling Western music or films.

At a meeting of his National Security Council last week, Musharraf told authorities that "the militants must be taken head on, security of vital places be beefed up and activities of suspected elements be strictly monitored."

He pledged to provide the provincial government with more police, vehicles and equipment. But there are doubts about both his willingness and ability to clamp down on the militants.

Musharraf relies heavily on Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, a religious party that leads the provincial government and helped secure the release of the abducted principal, to mediate with militant groups in the region.

Samina Ahmed, a South Asia expert at the International Crisis Group think tank, views Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam as a "political front" for the militants. The party shies away from criticizing the militants' activities in Tank, Ahmed said, blaming the government instead for stirring up a hornets' nest by launching counter-terrorist operations in the area at Washington's behest.

"'Talibanization' is a term created by the U.S. and the West to blame and defame Muslims and Pashtuns," said Maulana Saleh Shah, a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam lawmaker in Tank. "Anywhere something happens against their agenda they label it as Taliban."

However, others suspect that the party is losing control of hardcore extremists.

"There is a serious rift between these militants and the JUI," said Rahimullah Yousafzai, a Pakistani reporter and expert on the region. "Some of them had links with the JUI in the past, then they were radicalized and they want the JUI to be more radical, too."

Asfandyar Wali, head of the secular Awami National Party which competes with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam for the loyalty of ethnic Pashtuns, accused Musharraf of deliberately allowing the violence. That way, he said, Musharraf can send a message to his foreign backers that "if I am not here, these are the sort of people who will rule nuclear-armed Pakistan."

Shopkeepers in Tank are merely worried about their safety.

"No one wants put his life at risk in such an uncertain situation," said Qibla Khan, who supports a family of 10 by selling fruit and vegetables. "We all are worried about our and our kids future. We cannot live in such a constant state of fear and worry."

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Stephen Graham reported on this story from Islamabad, Riaz Khan from Tank.

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