Local tribal leader Haji Mohammad Sharif of Wana, the main town of Waziristan, recently spoke to the media and stated his tribe’s intention to expunge foreign militants from the area. Explaining his decision, he said that the militants, once their guests, had begun to kill his own people. Only one illustration of the area’s complex cultural and ideological dynamics, Waziristan has captured the world’s attention as one of the most volatile parts of the world. It is in effect, a state within a state, now commonly referred to as Talibanistan.
The near autonomous area within Pakistan has yet to be effectively infiltrated, philosophically or logistically, by any foreign power over the last two centuries. Musharraf’s government itself has been unable to wage a promising campaign in Waziristan, despite the remarkable fact that it exists within sovereign Pakistan. Indeed, Haji Mohammad’s statement lends support to the argument that greater change can only occur through a change in the hearts and minds of his people. Unfortunately, each limited gesture of change is met with a rather grave reality check. Flushed with not only foreign, but domestic militants deeply rooted in a perpetual jihadist ideology, Waziristan has become the central point of dispute between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and increasingly, between the United States and Pakistan. While Iraq may represent a logistical threat, Waziristan represents the playground where ideological forces are battling it out. Remnants of the Taliban are coloring its cultural and ideological spectrum, banning music and movies, requiring women to veil, and forcing men to attend prayers. The Taliban is once again rearing its ugly head six years after it was flushed out of Afghanistan.
Their resurgence in Pakistan is having consequences that reach far beyond Waziristan’s immediate territory. Suicide bombers are being deployed in mainstream Pakistani cities such as Islamabad, destroying any notion of safety in the usually quiet capital and bewildering the masses. Pakistan’s recent, so-called “peace deal” only fuels their fire to cultivate and regroup. The United States, unable to fully attack the militant bases in Waziristan due to Pakistan’s lack of permission, is left frustrated in its efforts to curb the extremism that is taking root. Instead, the U.S. is limited to providing intelligence to Pakistani authorities and funding social programs. A local tribal leader may change a few attitudes, but until the Pakistani government finds a way to control its own backyard, Waziristan, or Talibanistan, will continue to provide a haven for terrorists.
Published by East West Services, Inc.
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