Pakistani tribesmen rise up against militants

Unhappy with militants in their areas
Shuja Nawaz, a prominent Pakistani security analyst, said the tribesmen are joining the fight against the insurgents because they are unhappy with the presence of the militants in their region. He stressed the government must quickly build roads, schools and undertake other development projects in the tribal areas to cement the successes.

"It is a continuation of the British colonial tradition of paying off the tribes," said Nawaz, adding that historically such deals to buy loyalty often broke down.

Militants in the border region are blamed for surging violence against U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, leading to fears that the war there is unwinnable seven years after the Taliban was ousted.

They are also behind an increasingly virulent campaign of suicide attacks on Western, civilian and military targets within Pakistan that threatens to destabilize the nuclear-armed country.

Pakistan's broadly secular, pro-U.S. government is trying to channel public anger at those attacks, including the Sept. 20 blast at the Marriott hotel in the capital, Islamabad, into support for its fight against terrorism.

Seeking to overcome a common perception that the fight is America's war, the government often holds up the emergence of the tribal armies as proof that locals are behind the campaign.

That task has become increasingly complicated by suspected U.S. missile strikes within Pakistani territory that are believed to have killed more than 100 people, mostly alleged militants.

Latest casualties don't include al-Qaida fighters
The latest barrage, reported Sunday, in Pakistan's northwest killed five people, none of whom was believed to be a foreign al-Qaida fighter, officials said.

Some fear the lashkars could become a problem in the future with the private armies turning on each other or on the state itself.

"You are creating a very polarized society that doesn't auger well for the stability of the area," said Rustam Shah Mohmand, former ambassador to Afghanistan and political commentator. "I think this leads to a very, very confusing situation as far as law and order is concerned."

Since last year, the militants have taken over large swaths of the tribal region, a 10,425 square mile (27,000 square kilometer) patch of rugged land where the government has never had much control.

Responding to U.S. pressure, the army launched a major offensive in early August in the Bajur tribal region, where it claims to have killed more than 1,000 militants.

Despite that operation, U.S. officials and others in the region allege that elements within Pakistan's army and spy agency are supporting the militants, in part because they believe the country's strategic interests are best served by an unstable Afghanistan.

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