tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post3826689704533270612..comments2024-03-27T15:36:44.737-07:00Comments on Haq's Musings: The Battle of BajaurRiaz Haqhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-40449669839645493912015-01-16T19:36:54.809-08:002015-01-16T19:36:54.809-08:00Seven months after Pakistan’s army launched a mass...Seven months after Pakistan’s army launched a massive operation to oust militants from the country’s loosely regulated tribal areas, it is preparing to allow more than 1 million displaced residents to return home.<br /><br />But it is telling them there may be one condition: Giving up some of their weapons.<br /><br />For generations, the Pashtun tribesmen who populate the area say they have considered carrying a weapon outside as important as wearing sandals — and Pakistan’s government has made little effort to stop them. Unlike in most of Pakistan, where there are gun licensing requirements, the tribal belt is semiautonomous, and residents say that has given them a right to keep an array of weapons.<br />Now, though, the army vows it will keep the area clear of militants and bring more order to the famously unruly region.<br /><br />Whether Pakistani security forces succeed will be a key test of the government’s long-term strategy for curbing terrorist attacks. Many analysts are skeptical that anything close to true order can ever be established in North Waziristan and Khyber Agency, and the tribesmen say that is why they are not likely to disarm.<br /><br />“We have been keeping arms to protect our tribes, protect our people,” said Shah Jahan, a 50-year-old tribal elder from Khyber Agency. “But the government is asking us to go back without arms. How could we protect our honor and our dignity?”<br /><br />Here in northwestern Pakistan, the culture of gun ownership can be traced to what the mostly Pashtun tribesmen call their “warrior instinct” combined with fact they rarely had to look far to find a weapon. Over the decades, both Pakistan and foreign governments, including the United States, have dumped arms into the area to try to influence the near continual war in neighboring Afghanistan.<br /><br />As a result, it is common for men in the region common to own not only assault rifles but also rocket launchers and grenades. Some tribesmen even claim to possess antiaircraft weapons.<br /><br />Those men say going home without a gun would be like going home without their wives. Many doubt Pakistan’s army can provide protection against Islamist militants, drug-runners and other criminals.<br /><br />http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/pakistani-tribesmen-fear-losing-their-guns--and-rockets/2015/01/15/ae055164-9a70-11e4-bcfb-059ec7a93ddc_story.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-70402681319053315032013-04-21T10:30:31.695-07:002013-04-21T10:30:31.695-07:00Here's a Gulf News report on new tech training...Here's a <a href="http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/government/emirati-charity-project-in-pakistan-completed-1.1172873" rel="nofollow">Gulf News</a> report on new tech training center in FATA's Bajaur agency in Pakistan:<br /><br /><i>Islamabad: In keeping with the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to provide assistance to the people of Pakistan and to support technical and vocational educational there, the UAE Project to Assist Pakistan (UPAP) has announced completion of the project to build a technical college at Bajaur in Pakistan at a total cost of $3.4 million (Dh12.4 million). The project was delivered to the local government in Bajaur following completion.<br /><br />The official inauguration of the college was attended by Chief of Pakistan Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Eisa Abdullah Al Basha Al Nuaimi, Abdullah Khalifa Al Gafli, Director of the UPAP, and senior Pakistani officials.<br /><br />The college is built on a 34,000 square foot area. It will provide diploma-level technical education for up to 450 students in various disciplines of engineering such as electrical, mechanical, civil and mining.</i><br /><br />http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/government/emirati-charity-project-in-pakistan-completed-1.1172873Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.com