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By Griff Witte and Imtiaz Ali, Washington Post Foreign Tuesday,November 13, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 12 -- Across much of Pakistan on Monday, the
government was firmly in command -- squelching protests, blacking out television
stations and picking up dozens more political prisoners to add to the
thousands already in jail.
But in vast stretches of the country's rugged and wild northwest --
heartland of the Islamic extremist insurgency -- President Pervez Musharraf's army
did not have any more control than it did when the military-led government
imposed emergency rule nine days ago. In some areas, it had less.
While Musharraf has justified emergency rule by arguing that he needs a free
hand to battle groups including the Taliban and al-Qaeda, local officials,
residents and analysts say that so far, at least, the government's troops
remain on the defensive against extremist forces, which have been gaining
territory for more than a year.
"For us, it does not make a difference whether it's democracy, emergency or
martial law," said Maulana Siraj Uddin, spokesman for a radical cleric who
has seized control of much of the scenic Swat Valley in the country's far
northwest. "But I can tell you that our mujaheddin are fighting from the core of
their hearts, and we have made spectacular progress in the last week."
Fighters loyal to the cleric, 32-year-old Maulana Fazlullah, have in recent
days overrun three additional police stations and now roam unhindered through
much of the valley, once known to tourists as "the Switzerland of Asia."
A military spokesman confirmed that the group had recently forced local
security officials to flee several areas. But as of Monday, Maj. Gen. Waheed
Arshad said, the army had taken control of operations in the valley, and he
hinted that it was on the verge of launching an operation to stop the losses.
"We don't want these militants to be terrorizing the people. So they'll be
taken to task, that's for sure," he said.
To date, it has more often been the other way around, with extremist
fighters inflicting damaging defeats on the Pakistani military. In the tribal areas
that border Afghanistan, insurgents have virtually free rein, using the
territory as a base from which to mount attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan and
beyond, according to military analysts. When the army has tried to conduct
operations in the tribal areas, it has paid a heavy price. In August, for example,
Taliban fighters commandeered an entire army convoy, taking 250 soldiers
hostage without firing a single shot.
The Taliban held the troops for more than two months. They were released the
day after Musharraf imposed emergency rule, when the government acceded to
Taliban demands and freed nearly 30 of the group's fighters, including several
who had been involved in planning suicide bombings. Advisers to Musharraf
have conceded that the main reason he suspended the constitution, fired most of
the Supreme Court and declared an emergency was that the court was about to
rule him ineligible for another term as president.
But Musharraf himself has explained his actions in terms of the widening war
against extremist groups in Pakistan, insisting that the country would
spiral out of control unless the government did everything it could to counter the
threat. In making his case, he highlighted Swat, saying an emergency
declaration allows the army greater latitude to fight in an area where curbing
militancy is normally left to local police.
Since the emergency declaration, much of the government's energy has been
devoted to cracking down on mainstream political opponents, not militant
forces. That could change if the army launches an offensive in Swat. But it is not
clear whether even the army will have much impact. Over the past year,
Fazlullah's black-turbaned Islamic fighters have established their own state amid
the towering peaks of the Hindu Kush, turning the picturesque valley into a
battleground.
Unlike the tribal areas, which are officially semiautonomous and in practice
have never been under the central government's control, Swat is part of
Pakistan's so-called settled areas. The government is supposed to rule there. But
in 70 villages throughout the valley, Fazlullah's extreme interpretation of
Islamic law, or sharia, is the only law that matters.
Suspected criminals are publicly flogged. Soldiers are beheaded, their
bodies dumped in the streets. Extremist fighters direct traffic and run the
hospitals. The white flags of the Taliban flutter above government buildings.
Education for girls is discouraged, music is banned and barbers have stopped
shaving beards.
"Government institutions are completely nonexistent in our whole area," said
Rahmat Din, 25, a valley resident. "Fazlullah has appointed representatives
in almost all villages under his control for dispensing speedy justice and
helping solve the people's problems."
For many residents, that's just fine. "He is fighting for the introduction
of sharia, and nothing else, and we are ready to sacrifice ourselves and our
sons on his order," said Mohammad Rehan, a 34-year-old volunteer in
Fazlullah's army, which numbers in the thousands and is headquartered just a couple of
miles from the valley's main town, Mingaora.
Fazlullah rallies his supporters through fiery broadcasts on a pirated FM
signal, which has earned him the nickname "Maulana Radio." Earlier this year,
he spoke out against the evils of television, and local residents responded by
setting thousands of TVs ablaze. In sermons that echo for miles, he also
calls on Swat's residents to rise up against Musharraf and his international
backers, especially the United States.
"The mission of Fazlullah in Swat is the same as that of the Taliban in
Afghanistan and other mujaheddin in Waziristan," said Shah Abdul Aziz, a former
member of Parliament. "All of them have taken up arms for the same task of
fighting against the puppets of the United States and introducing the system of
Islamic laws."
Throughout the northwest, the war against the insurgents is unpopular. Many
Pakistanis consider it America's war, though on either side, it's Pakistani
blood that is spilled.
Analysts say they fear that while emergency rule may give Musharraf more
power to use the army to put down the insurgency, it will backfire when it comes
to changing minds.
"The mullahs' main slogan is enforcing sharia, and that is popular with the
populace," said Ghulam Cheema, a retired army colonel. "The army, in their
heart of hearts, can't fight such a slogan."
Ali reported from Mingaora and Peshawar. Correspondent Pamela Constable in
Islamabad contributed to this report. |
