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Wana calm after Nek’s killing

* Sultan says govt ready to deal with any backlash
* Reiterates amnesty offer
* Army denies reports about US help
* Afghan refugees ordered to leave South Waziristan
* Nek’s aides ready to avenge his death

By Iqbal Khattak

PESHAWAR: South Waziristan Agency was calm a day after the death of rebel leader Nek Muhammad in a missile attack on Friday.

“There has been no (violent) reaction to Nek’s death so far,” a tribal elder told Daily Times by phone from Kalosha. “The day was very quiet,” he added. Military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan also reported that the area was calm and hoped, “Things are moving in the right direction.”

Not a big majority of tribal people were shocked by Nek’s killing. Daily Times learnt this by interviewing a cross section of people via phone in Wana, Azam Warsak and Kalosha.

“I would say that perhaps 40 percent people are in shock. Nek was a hero for these people. But wiser people also say whatever is happening in Waziristan is because of him,” said a tribal elder, requesting anonymity.

His supporters were made to believe that Nek was “like a tank” and that the Pakistan Army was unlikely to eliminate him physically, he said.

“I think Nek’s followers are in deep shock because a new dimension — the use of guided missiles — was added to the operation. There was no quick reaction on the first day after his burial because his followers were probably taking stock of the situation before launching a counter-strike,” a former Inter Services Intelligence official said. He said the government must be ready for any ‘adventure’ by Nek’s followers to avenge his death.

Intelligence sources said situation was being monitored closely. They said foreigners and Nek’s followers would stay quiet for some time.

Sources said that wanted tribesman Muhammad Javed Karmazkhel might lead the post-Nek resistance. He is in his early 30s and regarded as “as good fighter” like Nek. Karmazkhel, said a pro-Nek tribesman, might prove to be real successor to ‘ameer’ Nek.

But the government appears to have hardened its stance to tackle foreign terrorists. On Saturday, the administration shifted key arrested elders from Waziristan to unknown places.

Agencies add: “If there is any backlash, we are prepared to deal with it,” Maj Gen Sultan told Reuters.

He said amnesty would be offered to foreign fighters and the tribesmen who had sheltered them, but only if they laid down their arms.

“In case of locals, amnesty will be given to those who lay down their weapons and denounce militancy,” he said. “Foreigners will have to do the same, but they will also have to get themselves registered, photographed and fingerprinted,” he said.

Failure to take up the offer, he said, would lead to a further crackdown by the military, which has been battling the militants for months in a campaign to rid Pakistan of radicals.

Maj Gen Sultan denied reports regarding US help in Nek’s killing, saying it was an operation of the Pakistan security forces, APP reported.

“Eight people were killed in the attack including Nek and three foreigners,” Maj-Gen Sultan told AFP.

The close aides of Nek have vowed to step up their activities against the government, Online reported. A close associate of Nek said on Saturday that a large number of the slain leader’s friends were still present in Wana and surrounding areas and they would avenge his killing. “Our operations will continue and the anti Muslim forces will have to face the consequences,” he said.

The South Waziristan administration on Saturday ordered Afghan refugees to leave the area. The Afghan refugees were ordered to report to the Dhahra refugee camp or go to their homeland.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Secretary on Finance Qamar Ayub Khan said that the Wana operation was against foreign militants hiding in South Waziristan.

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