The Hindu : Pakistan army nabs foreign militants

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 25, 2004

International

International

Pakistan army nabs foreign militants

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, FEB. 24. The Pakistani army has detained over 20 suspected foreign militants in a swift and major operation in one of the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

This is the fourth such operation by the Pakistan military since the United States launched its offensive against the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda in October 2002 and confirms suspicions of intrusion of fugitives from Afghanistan into Pakistan.

While it was not immediately clear if any of the big names in the list of the U.S.-led coalition were nabbed, it appears to have passed off without any major incident. A military statement said that there was no casualty.

The Information and Broadcasting Minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, told correspondents here that some wanted men had surrendered voluntarily with the help of the local Jirga — according to tribal traditions — after negotiations with the Government. He said some of those who surrendered possessed foreign passports but the identity of the foreigners could not be revealed.

The Minister's statement is intriguing as last week the President, Pervez Musharraf, had offered not to hand over any of the surrendered foreign militants to the U.S. The military was forced to launch the operation today as the suspected militants did not surrender.

Reports from the area said that some houses were destroyed during the operation. However, the Information Minister claimed that the houses of those tribals sheltering the wanted men had been destroyed by the Jirga. By a tradition, the Jirga destroys the houses of persons who harbour such foreigners.

The Minister said the people of the area also cooperated with the authorities in the surrender of these men. Mr. Ahmed said the operation in Wana had ended. He said the operation could be re-launched whenever required.

He rejected allegations that there were some foreign forces involved in the Wana operation. He said the armed forces were competent enough and capable of safeguarding the interests of the country.

Regarding the reports of Osama Bin Ladan being cornered in some remote area, the Minister said Pakistan had no information on him or Mullah Omar.

A statement issued by the military later said troops recovered "weapons, ammunition and audio cassettes" during the search operation in the tribal South Waziristan region. "In addition, certain documents, including passport, have also been recovered from the houses which confirm the presence of foreigners there," it said.

Reports said hundreds of Pakistani troops backed by helicopter gunships launched the operation aimed at foreign militants, believed to be mainly Uzbeks as well as some Chechens, in the semi-autonomous South Waziristan. Officials said the troops shelled a house in the town of Zeralitta which intelligence reports had suggested was used as a hideout by an unspecified number of terrorists.

"Being a frontline partner in the war on terror, this operation manifests continued resolve of the Pakistani Government to follow its policy despite risks involved," the military said in an earlier statement. The Minister said Pakistani troops shot dead eight Al-Qaeda suspects and arrested 18 others in a major operation launched in South Waziristan in October.

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