** Milis Nasional Indonesia ppi-india **
Demi Allah, keadilan, kebersamaan dan kemanusiaan,
wassalam,
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Peace Deal Sought With Pakistan Militants=20=20=20=20
WANA, Pakistan - Pakistani forces agreed Sunday to allow a 25-member=20
tribal council free passage into a battlezone in an effort to=20
negotiate a peace deal with local elders sheltering hundreds of al-
Qaida fighters, but insisted they would never back off a demand that=20
the militants be handed over.=20
The military believes a "high-value" target is hunkered down in the=20
besieged area in South Waziristan, but says it's uncertain if it is=20
Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s Egyptian deputy, Ayman al-
Zawahri, or another terrorist.=20
On Sunday, military officials sent six bodies of suspected Chechen=20
terrorists from Wana to a hospital in Rawalpindi, a city near the=20
capital Islamabad, for DNA tests.=20
"We will do DNA test on the bodies of these Chechens to confirm their=20
identity," said a military official, who spoke on condition of=20
anonymity.=20
Meanwhile, troops faced no resistance on the sixth day of the=20
operation, involving 5,000-6,000 Pakistani forces.=20
The tribal peace council is to travel to the region Monday morning=20
under the protection of a white flag, said Brig. Mahmood Shah, chief=20
of security for the area. Fighting would stop while the council was=20
negotiating, though Shah refused to call it a cease-fire.=20
The council will be carrying a list of three government demands: that=20
the elders free 12 soldiers and two government officials taken=20
captive earlier this week; that they hand over tribesmen involved in=20
the fighting; and that they kick out any foreigners or show the=20
military where to track them down.=20
"These tribesmen must hand over all the wanted people, or the=20
operation will proceed," Shah told journalists in Peshawar, the=20
provincial capital.=20
The operation that began Tuesday is the largest by Pakistan in its=20
lawless tribal regions bordering Afghanistan (news - web sites) since=20
it threw its support behind the U.S.-led war on terrorism after the=20
Sept. 11 attacks on America.=20
Fighting between Pakistani forces and 400-500 foreign militants and=20
local Yargul Khel tribesmen abated Sunday, and Shah speculated that=20
the militants were conserving ammunition.=20
"They may be facing a shortage of ammunition. Heavy firing has almost=20
entirely stopped and they are only using light weapons," he said.=20
Shah said two Chechens were killed Sunday trying to break through a=20
tight military cordon.=20
Pakistani forces took advantage of the lull to search homes.=20
The military has arrested more than 100 suspects so far, sending some=20
of them to Peshawar, for interrogation. It displayed about 40 of them=20
at a military base in Wana on Saturday, but did not identify them.=20
Shah on Sunday reiterated a pledge not to turn any captured locals=20
over to a foreign country, presumably the United States. That pledge=20
did not apply to the foreign militants.=20
Security officials said prisoners included Pakistanis, Arabs,=20
Chechens, Uzbeks and ethnic Uighurs from China's predominantly Muslim=20
Xinjiang province, but say it is difficult to distinguish the=20
foreigners from locals, as they have often lived in the region for a=20
long time and speak the local Pashto language.=20
Thousands of tribespeople have fled their homes, and on Sunday at the=20
hospital in Wana, the main town in the region about three miles from=20
the fighting, some berated the army for civilian casualties in the=20
fighting.=20
According to local government officials in Wana and intelligence=20
officials, about two dozen local people were killed in firing on five=20
vehicles on Saturday. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said the vehicles were=20
fired on because they were trying to escape a military cordon around=20
the target area.=20
He said one bus, in which at least seven people were killed, was hit=20
by a stray rocket fired by militants =97 although locals said it was=20
hit by gunfire and rockets from a Pakistani helicopter.=20
Tribesman Zain Ullah said 12 of his relatives, including five women,=20
died in the bus attack. Three of a dead cousin's children, ages 3 to=20
5, were injured, he said.=20
At the Wana hospital, dozens of relatives of victims were wailing and=20
cursing the Pakistani army and President Gen. Pervez Musharraf =97 a=20
key Washington ally =97 as more injured people arrived for treatment.=20
They told doctors that they were targeted by the army.=20
"Pakistani soldiers are like beasts," said tribesman Mukhtar Wazir,=20
as he looked on three wounded children receiving treatment. "See,=20
these children are like flowers. Are they terrorists?"=20
"Musharraf is evil, (U.S. President George W.) Bush is Satan," said=20
Wazir.=20
The military has refused to give updates of casualties until the=20
current operation is complete.=20
On Friday, Sultan said 17 troops had been killed, most in the initial=20
assault Tuesday. Only 26 militants have been confirmed killed. The=20
actual toll is believed to be much higher on both sides.=20
Regional military commander Lt. Gen. Safdar Hussain said Saturday=20
that most of the militants' radio conversations that were intercepted=20
by the military were in Chechen and Uzbek, though some were in=20
Arabic.=20
He would not be drawn on who the "high-value target" might be =97 only=20
saying that the intensity of the resistance led him to believe he was=20
probably still in the region. Pakistani officials speaking on=20
condition of anonymity have previously said it was believed to be al-
Zawahri.=20
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Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg=
Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.arsip.da.ru
***************************************************************************
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