Bomb blasts kill at least 15 in Pakistan

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39112
PAKISTAN: Taliban Taunt Musharraf by Detaining His Soldiers
By Ashfaq Yusufzai

PESHAWAR, Sep 1 (IPS)
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On Thursday, the Taliban audaciously abducted more than 150 soldiers in the volatile South Waziristan Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs). And on Friday another 30 soldiers who were members of a convoy, were taken prisoner, a local journalist from Wana, South Waziristan, told IPS.

"You don’t see any law enforcer in FATA, especially after sunset. The militants hold the real authority," said Zulfiqar Ali, who reports from the area and knows it well. He speculated that the fact that the militants could seize and hold such a large number of soldiers indicated their size and strength and said it was possible that the government had already lost control of the tribal areas.
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On Aug.9 militants abducted 16 security personnel from Bannu. Three days later, they beheaded one of the hostages and released a video-tape of the barbaric killing that was carried out by a child fighter, in a blatant show of disregard for human rights laws that prohibit the enlisting of child soldiers.

"Release of the horrible video footage of the abducted soldiers is meant to compel law enforcers to stay away from their fight with Musharraf," said Dr Said Alam Mahsud, an intellectual based in South Waziristan.

At the start of the U.S.-led war on terrorism in early 2002 Musharraf enjoyed support in the FATA. But this faded fast because of heavy casualties suffered by the local population in aerial attacks launched by the U.S. army from across the border in Afghanistan, and backed by the Pakistan army, said Rakhshanda Naz, resident director of the Aurat Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

She said that frightened locals have turned against the army since the attacks had targeted innocent women and children. U.S. forces claim that the Taliban, following their ouster from power in Kabul late 2001, had found shelter among pro-Taliban groups in the FATA and NWFP.
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The situation in the border areas seems to be tilting against Musharraf. "The endless string of suicide bombings on the army, policemen and pro-Musharraf politicians is a clear indication that he is losing control," Parveen Begum of the NGO AWAZ told IPS. She says that the reported beheadings of alleged U.S. spies by militants is part of the anti-Musharraf campaign.

(END/2007)