By Abdur Rehman Abid
Thursday, 23 Apr, 2009 | 10:55 PM PST |
Two policemen have been killed as a jirga of Taliban and local elders oppose govt moves to send in troops.— Reuters/File
BUNER: The Taliban forced the Frontier Constabulary to defer stationing of its units in Buner district on Thursday after they ambushed a police vehicle that was piloting a convoy bound for the besieged region, killing two policemen.
In Daggar, the district headquarters, a jirga of Taliban and local elders opposed any move by the government to send in troops.
The Frontier Constabulary personnel returned to Totalai town bordering Swabi district after the ambush.
Head constable Gul Saeed and constable Mohammad Yahya were killed when the vehicle of Totalai police piloting coaches taking FC personnel towards upper Buner came under rocket attack and indiscriminate fire by Taliban near Sawawi. A sub-inspector was injured and the police patrol vehicle sped towards Chinglai after the attack.
Taliban occupied police checkpoints at Durmai Pass and Chinglai, but withdrew after intervention of a leader and locked the posts.
They announced that they would carry out attacks if the government tried to send military or paramilitary forces to the area.
According to sources, the Taliban kidnapped a moharar of Chinglai post, Tajbar Khan, and a villager, Amani Room, who had given shelter to him. A Taliban ‘commander’ set them free on the request of local people.
A large number of armed Taliban moved towards Khudukhel after the ambush and security personnel were confined to the Totalai police station.
JIRGA
A jirga held at Madressah Tarjumanul Quran claimed that local people supported Taliban’s efforts for peaceful enforcement of Sharia.
The Taliban agreed to stop display of heavy weapons and ‘undue checking’ on roads. A Taliban leader announced that militants would stay in the district, but would not brandish arms unnecessarily to avoid harassment of locals, stop snatching vehicles and other material from government and semi-government offices and allow NGOs to work.
On a request by local notables for an ‘amnesty’ for people of Shalbandi and Khwajawas villages who had raised a lashkar to fight the Taliban, the militant leaders said they would be pardoned only after they agreed to face disciplinary proceedings.
It was agreed that a coordination committee would be formed with one representative each from political parties, religious organisations, Taliban and the district coordination officer to reconcile any misunderstanding among them.
The jirga decided to hold a public meeting in Swari on Sunday to remove the locals’ misgivings and urge those who had left their homes to return. Taliban leaders will also attend the peace gathering.
On behalf of the people of the district, Nasir Laiq Bacha of the Awami National Party thanked Taliban for maintaining peace. He said the Taliban were sons of the soil whose prime objective was supremacy of Islam.
Mr Bacha said deployment of troops in the district would be opposed because it would bring destruction.
The jirga was attended by Taliban leader Mufti Bashir and Yasir Khan, Buner DCO Javed Ahmad Khan, Maulana Tajur Rehman and Minhajudeen of the Ishaat Al Sunnah wal-Tauheed group, Nasir Laiq Bacha and Shams Buneri of the ANP, Bashir Khan of Jamaat-i-Islami, Usman Shah Khan of the Pakistan People’s Party, former MNA Sher Akbar Khan of the PPP-S, Ghulam Mohammad Jamadar of the Tablighi Jamaat and media persons.
‘We have decided to deploy eight platoons,’ Frontier Constabulary commandant Zafarullah Khan said. There are roughly 40-45 soldiers per platoon.
Local people said masked Taliban were asking people on the streets to support them in their efforts to implement Sharia and announcements were being made over mosques’ public address systems that ‘un-Islamic’ activities would no longer be tolerated.
Banners in the district’s main town warned women not to go to markets and public places. Men were told not to shave off their beards.
‘They have unleashed a reign of terror in Buner,’ former lawmaker Karim Babak said. ‘This situation has sent a wave of panic among people.’
Another resident said: ‘Police are helpless and seem to have lost control. Taliban are moving freely everywhere in my town.’
Hundreds of militants have set up checkpoints and occupied mosques in the district. A Taliban leader said they would set up sharia courts in Buner but would not interfere with police work.
Lawyers said that local courts had been shut till May 2. Even the health department has asked women not to report for work in order to ensure their safety, an official said. ‘We have asked our female staff not to do field duties,’ EDO Maqsood Ahmad Khan said.
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