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Wazir tribes ratify new militant bloc

* Taliban leaders forge unity to counter Baitullah’s Uzbek troops
* Tribal elder imprisoned, fined for expressing dissent at decision

By Iqbal Khattak

PESHAWAR: Ahmedzai Wazir tribes in South Waziristan on Monday formed a new militant bloc urging Taliban leaders to strengthen bonds with other groups to foil any bid by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud to “re-impose Uzbek militants” on them.

“The grand jirga of the Ahmedzai Wazirs has approved the agreement between [Ahmedzai Wazir chief] Maulvi Nazir and [Utmanzai Wazir chief] Mullah Gul Bahadar, allowing the two leaders to forge a unity against Mehsud,” a tribal elder told Daily Times as he emerged from the meeting held in Wana bazaar.

Nazir and Bahadar from South and North Waziristan respectively reached an understanding last month to strengthen bonds to defend the tribes’ interest in the backdrop of the “threatening posture” of Baitullah from the rival Mehsud tribe.

Both Nazir and Bahadar oppose Baitullah for ‘sheltering’ Uzbek militants. Nazir had launched a drive against the Uzbeks in March last year to drive them out from strongholds in the Wana, Kaloosha and Azam Warsak areas.

Dissent: A tribal elder, Malik Bakhan, was fined Rs 500,000 for speaking against the agreement, said another tribal elder asking not to be named.

“We should not play into the hands of [Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief] Fazlur Rehman or [President] Pervez Musharraf as they are following a divide-and-rule policy,” Bakhan was quoted as telling the jirga.

Witnesses to the meeting said Bakhan was sent to a private prison and tortured. Other elders, however, reached a compromise with the Taliban for Bakhan’s release in return for Rs 500,000 fine.

The Uzbek militants killed Malik Bakhan – Nazir’s close commander, not the dissenting tribal elder – on June 1 near Dera Ismail Khan district. The killing was a major reason for Nazir to reach a defence pact with Gul Bahadar.

It was decided at the meeting that taxes would be levied on government contactors and fruit exporters to finance the Taliban’s bill for securing peace in the Wazir-dominated areas.

“Government contractors and fruit and vegetable exporters will pay a small percentage of their revenue to shoulder the ‘peace bill’,” said the elder.

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