March 9, 2007

Musharraf Deal Bad For Pakistanis, Too

With the deal between Pervez Musharraf and the Waziris widely acknowledged as a problem for the US and NATO in Afghanistan, some forget that Pakistanis also suffer from its effects. The Los Angeles Times reports on the ascendancy of the extremists and terrorists in Pakistan since Musharraf signaled a retreat on his prosecution of the war on terror, and what that means for moderates opposed to jihadism:

For weeks, there had been whispers that Akhtar Usmani, a young teacher at a Muslim religious school, was speaking out against the growing presence of Islamic militants in his home in the tribal area of Waziristan.

Then one day last week, the schoolteacher's corpse, with the head severed from the torso, was found in a bloody sack dumped beside a desolate road. A note on his mutilated body called him a spy for America.

Such grisly reprisal killings have become a recurring feature of life in Waziristan, a rugged border zone that is in the global spotlight because of U.S. intelligence claims that elements of Al Qaeda are regrouping there

A little-noted corollary of the area's notoriety as a militant haven is the suffering of civilians who live and work there, say human rights groups, political analysts and Pakistani law enforcement officials. The killings are part of an atmosphere of terror enveloping many of the 4 million or so people living in North and South Waziristan and the other "tribal agencies," seven federally administered but essentially ungoverned areas adjoining the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier.

Civilians there are increasingly subject to the stringent Islamic prohibitions and punishments of Taliban insurgents, foreign militants and members of radical Pakistani organizations, whose influence is breaking down traditional tribal leadership, people in the area say.

Musharraf's retreat wasn't just a betrayal of his allies in the war on terror, but also a betrayal of the moderate Muslims he claims to lead. The Waziristan deal has allowed the extremists out of the shadows and into the open, and they have predictably acted to impose their religious tyranny on everyone in sight. Just as the Taliban did in Afghanistan, they have banned music, threatened barbers, shuttered movie theaters, and forced schools that teach girls to close.

It's not just Taliban fanily values that have afflicted Waziris and others in the region. They have also started conducting kidnappings to bolster terrorist finances, another form of terrorism on the local civilians. The Taliban have turned themselves into an Islamic Mafia, conducting protection rackets, truck hijackings, and the ubiquitous drug smuggling that occurs in the region regardless of who is in charge.

The civilians have not quietly accepted their fate as Mullah Omar's vassals. They have organized their own response to Islamist terrorists, conducting attacks on their own. A gang of tribal warriors attacks Uzbek terrorists last week in a battle that left 19 dead.

Musharraf signed the deal in order to maintain his power in Pakistan, obviously feeling threatened by the Islamists and daunted by the tough fight Waziristan represents. However, it's obvious that he has traded one form of instability for another, and either way he faces a civil war. The question for Musharraf is whether he wants to fight now while he has the better ground, or whether he waits until the Taliban absorbs so much of Pakistan that he will have no tactical strength left.

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