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Taliban control Waziristan

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: Pakistani Taliban have taken control of most of North and South Waziristan, enforcing strict social edicts such as a ban on the sale of music and films and shaving of beards in the tribal agencies, the Guardian reports. Militants collect taxes from passing vehicles at new checkpoints, and last week an Islamic court was established in Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan, to replace the traditional jirga, says the British newspaper. The military deployed 70,000 troops to Waziristan two years ago to rein in the militants. But the campaign is faltering. An army assault against an alleged Al Qaeda training camp outside Miranshah on March 1 left more than 100 dead. Since declaring a curfew in Miranshah, government troops have regained control. But some people are worried. “The so-called war on terror is going badly,” said one diplomat. Analysts say the Pakistani Taliban is a loose alliance of tribal militia operating under radical clerics. Many are angered by heavy-handed attacks against suspected Al Qaeda hideouts, which are thought to have killed hundreds of civilians over the last two years.

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