Pakistani Islamists demand end to military operation in tribal area
Friday March 26, 11:15 PM

Furious Islamists took to Pakistan's streets to protest the 11-day military operation against tribal fighters and Al-Qaeda militants, as rebel tribesmen at the centre of the battle refused to hand over hostages until troops withdraw.

The protestors responding to the call of the six-party Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) religious alliance condemned President Pervez Musharraf and accused him of being a stooge of the United States.

Speakers at the rallies asked the government to halt the military operation in South Waziristan tribal region near the Afghanistan border where some 7,500 troops have been battling hundreds of Al-Qaeda suspects and their local supporters since March 16.

The rallies in dozens of cities followed the broadcast Thursday of an audiotape purportedly by senior Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri calling on the Pakistanis to overthrow Musharraf. The tape was broadcast by the Arabic television station Al-Jazeera.

Islamist leaders made fiery speeches condemning what they called Musharraf's subservience to the United States but made no reference to the reported Zawahiri appeal to overthrow his rule.

"Musharraf is a stooge of America and he has forced the army to kill Muslims in South Waziristan to please his masters," MMA leader and member of parliament Fayyazur Rehman told a crowd of some 500 people in Peshawar, capital of North West Frontier Province which borders on Afghanistan.

At least 54 soldiers have been killed and a further 22 -- two local officials and 20 troops -- are missing as a result of the operation near Wana, the main town in South Waizirstan tribal area, a security official said Friday.

Up to 55 militants of an estimated 500 local and foreign fighters have been killed in the operation, according to Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat.

Some 163 people have also been arrested, Brigadier Mehmood Shah, chief regional security commander for the tribal zone told AFP.

The battle, the largest yet by Pakistani forces in the semi-autonomous tribal region and their fiercest ever against suspected Al-Qaeda fighters, has reached a stalemate since the army ceased fire on Monday to allow negotiations.

Tribal elders have been trying to persuade the rebel fighters to hand over the Al-Qaeda suspects, tribal chiefs wanted for harbouring the extremists, and a number of hostages who are believed to be held.

They have so far made no headway.

"Members of the Yargulkhel tribe have refused to negotiate until troops vacate," said Mohabbat Khan Shirani, one of nine elders sent to negotiate with the hostage-holders on Thursday night.

Pakistani officials had initially suggested that the militants in South Waziristan were protecting a senior Al-Qaeda leader, possibly Zawahiri, but they have backed off such claims in recent days.

Nobody ever saw Zawahiri, and regional experts believe the "high value target" being referred to was probably an Uzbek or Chechen militant leader who may have escaped.

A regional security commander said this week that many of the militants, including the high value target, had escaped.

The message attributed to Zawahiri also calls on Pakistanis to support the Al-Qaeda terror network, but there was no immediate independent verification of the audio recording.

The military commander in charge of the Wana operation told a local newspaper he wanted to wind up the operation by Saturday to allow a political rather than military solution.

"The use of force should be the last resort. I would like political process to lead the way. I firmly believe that even in worst case scenarios negotiations are the best way to resolve issues," Lieutenant General Safdar Hussain told the Dawn newspaper.

"The best option ... now is for the militants to lay down their arms and surrender and not create a situation where the army is forced to be employed as an instrument of power."

Hussain said the mission of "destroying and denying sanctuary to militants" had been accomplished.

Source:
Yahoo News