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‘Tribesmen to fight US if incursions continue’

* 3,000-strong jirga accuses Kabul of misleading US about Qaeda presence in FATA

By Iqbal Khattak

PESHAWAR: Every Ahmedzai Wazir tribesman will fight US forces on Afghani soil if their incursions into South Waziristan continue, a 3,000-strong jirga ruled on Wednesday.

The jirga consisting of pro-government tribal elders and pro-Taliban clerics was held in Wana.

“Each and every Ahmedzai Wazir tribesman, be young or old, will take up arms against the US and fight alongside the Pakistan Army,” eyewitnesses told Daily Times, quoting pro-Taliban Noor Muhammad reading a unanimous resolution at the end of the jirga.

The resolution came hours after US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen met the Pakistani political and military leadership in Islamabad to defuse tension between the two countries following the September 3 US-led ground assault in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

“We will take the war to Afghanistan to confront the Americans,” the resolution said.

Tribal elders said on condition of anonymity that clerics developed differences over the time to deliver the resolution, adding Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) clerics had wanted to delay the resolution until JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman returns from Umra. “Other clerics opposed the delay, saying the US needs urgent response,” the tribal elders added.

Kabul: The resolution also accused Kabul of ‘misleading’ the US forces about the presence of Al Qaeda in South Waziristan. “Let it be clear to the Americans that the Kabul regime is misleading them. Tribesmen have no business to do with Al Qaeda,” the resolution stated. Jirga members lauded Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani’s statement to defend the country against foreign aggression, and reprimanded the political leadership for its ‘soft stand’ on the issue.

The jirga demanded a more active political administration, suggesting military actions in FATA should require the political administration’s approval. The jirga participants said they wanted a true implementation of the collective responsibility clauses of the Frontier Crimes Regulation.

The political administration has become ineffective after the Pakistani military started doing operations in FATA following the September 2001 attacks in the US.

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