Waziristan peace deal in retrospect

SEPTEMBER 5 peace deal in North Waziristan Agency which brought about cessation of military operations against militants in the otherwise restive tribal belt bordering Afghanistan is being reviewed. However, the Government of Pakistan feels that this accord provided a window of opportunity for all parties involved. Over six hundred Pak soldiers perished in the protracted operation, started under US pressure, to eliminate militants including remnant of Al-Qaeda and Taliban from using the safe sanctuaries in FATA to launch attacks on foreign and Afghan troops operating close to Pak borders.
The US Administration and NATO official who had reservations at the very outset are now becoming increasingly uncomfortable. They attribute the increased pressure on the Karzai regime and foreign troops from resistance fighters to this deal, which in their perception has allowed Taliban fighters to re-group and intensify their armed struggle. Pakistan has all along maintained that Taliban’s resurgence has nothing to do with the tribal belt and Pak tribesmen’s alleged support to the. In fact, Taliban resurrection should be attributed to Karzai Government’s failure to improve things in the war-devastated country. The Afghans do not perceive any change for the better. The writ of Kabul regime is gradually weakening. Several areas are now controlled by anti-Karzai forces. There is no law and order. Basic services are missing. No re-construction work worth the name has been started. Poppy cultivation which almost disappeared under Taliban regime has resumed as alternate sources of income have not been provided to the farmers.
Pakistan had demonstrated lots of sincerity in the war on terror by stationing around 80,000 troops in tribal areas. The military operations started by Islamabad could target a few terror suspects in the ensuing clashes between Pak security agencies and tribal, innocent people including women and children were killed. Bajaur attack perhaps gave our policy makers a sense of urgency. It was felt that the military operations targeting terror suspects had done more harm to Pakistan than any real damage to the militants. A sense of alienation and a wave of anger had prevailed. Resultantly, Islamabad acted prudently by adopting the course of dialogue The credit must go to NWFP’s present Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd) Ali Mohammads Jan Orakzai for bringing about a peace deal.
While the Waziristan peace accord is being reviewed to ensure its fullest implementation, we should not be carried away by statements of Western officials who do not have even the foggiest idea of the culture and traditions of our tribesmen. To fight our own people because foreigners suspect them of aiding thee Taliban has been disastrous. Our policies should always be guided by the consideration of “Pakistan First”. It has been unwise to doubt loyalties of tribesmen who have played a heroic role in defending our territorial integrity. Their sense of patriotism should not be dampened.

Renegades in uniform

Basra’s Jamiat police station was a place of terror during Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship. In the wake of the US-led invasion there was widespread rejoicing as angry crowds attacking the most notorious monuments of the hated regime trashed much of the building. Tragically, however, Jamiat once again became a byword for savagery by policemen who ought to have been protecting, not persecuting, the public they were hired to serve.
Until yesterday, the Jamiat precinct house was the headquarters of Basra’s Serious Crimes Unit, a police formation with a fearsome reputation as a thuggish death squad. It is now a pile of rubble. The British Army stormed the building allegedly to stop the execution of some of the 127 prisoners held there, many of whom had been tortured and abused. On Friday, seven commanders of the Serious Crimes Unit were seized in dawn raids. Yesterday more members of the unit were detained. The prisoners they were said to have been abusing were transferred to other police stations.
Many Basra citizens of various backgrounds will probably be pleased that a thuggish organization that brought the forces of law and order into disrepute has been destroyed in such a spectacular manner. There will also however be anger that the British allowed this police unit to establish such a merciless hegemony, not only over the luckless people of Basra but also over other police formations. The British are after all still responsible for security. They had selected and trained the new police officers who replaced Saddam’s disbanded units. They have also long been aware of the renegade nature of the Serious Crime Unit. It was members of this squad who last September seized two British soldiers, believed to be members of the SAS. A British raid on the Jamiat police house freed the men.
The British have effectively ceded day-to-day control of the streets to rival Shiite factions who have been battling each other for power. But the Serious Crimes Unit remained in their sights after the September incident. The planned executions gave the British the opportunity to settle the score. Unfortunately, it seems highly unlikely that this is the start of a coordinated drive to break the power of the militias, in and out of uniform. Fully 1,000 troops were used in this operation — almost a seventh of the total British presence in southern Iraq. This was almost certainly a special operation, mounted to remind Basra’s warring factions that the occupation force still has teeth.
The long-term effect on security in Iraq’s second largest city must however be doubted. Rival militias will seek to fill the space occupied by the murderous bullies of the Serious Crimes Unit. Decent policemen who wish only to serve their community will still be exposed to threats and malign influence.
The tragic truth is that the British, despite their more subtle approach than the Americans, have allowed the security initiative to slip away from them. There is now very little they can do to protect ordinary Iraqis from the militia warlords.

—Arab News