Fighting suspended for Ramadan

2008-09-01 10:00

Zarar Khan

Islamabad - Pakistan's military suspended fighting in the country's volatile northwest on Monday for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as some of the 300 000 displaced by air strikes and gunbattles started packing up belongings so they could return to their shattered homes.

The military warned that any provocations in the Bajur tribal region, a rumoured hide-out of Osama bin Laden near the border with Afghanistan, would bring immediate retaliation.

But a Taliban spokesperson welcomed the decision to temporarily cease operations.

Pakistan's five-month-old government at first tried peace talks with militants, but those efforts bore little fruit. It has turned to force in recent weeks, including using helicopter gunships and jets to strike suspected insurgent hide-outs.

The operation in Bajur began in early August. Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik on Sunday said it had killed more than 560 insurgents. Malik did not commit to a formal end to the operation, but said an estimated 300 000 people displaced from Bajur could return to the region "without any fear".

Some started gathering their belongings from sweltering, mosquito-infested relief camps so they could go home for Ramadan. But others, barely scraping by, said they could not afford to make the journey and would remain with their families in cramped tents for the holy month.

American officials have pressed Pakistan to crack down on militants in its tribal regions, fearing Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked fighters involved in attacks on US and Nato forces in Afghanistan use those border areas as safe zones. The US is suspected of launching a series of missile strikes targeting alleged militant compounds in Pakistan's rugged and lawless tribal region along the border, including one Sunday that left four dead.

'This is not a war'

The region was quiet as the military halted its activities on Monday, the day before Ramadan officially begins in Pakistan.

Bajur has been the primary focus of military operations against insurgents, though there have also been clashes in the northwestern Swat Valley, a formerly popular tourist resort.

It was not immediately clear whether authorities were also suspending fighting there, but Taliban militants said, in any case, they intended to keep up their activities.

"This is not a war, but jihad, and this is our faith that rewards for good deeds and that is multiplied during the holy month," said Muslim Khan, a Taliban spokesperson in Swat.

The numbers and scope of the operations have been almost impossible to confirm because of the remote, dangerous nature of the regions. The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for a string of recent suicide attacks, calling them revenge for the offensives.

As the crackdown has proceeded, Pakistan's government has become increasingly embroiled in political turbulence.

Pakistani Taliban spokesperson Maulvi Umar said the suspension of the operation in Bajur was welcome, and he reiterated an offer to negotiate with the government. However, he said militants would not lay down their arms as the government has demanded.

- SAPA