Pakistani pamphlets link militants to Hindus, Jews

TANK, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistan’s military airdropped
pamphlets this week over towns in restive tribal regions near
the Afghan border urging tribesmen to shun “foreign
terrorists,” saying they were part of a Hindu and Jewish plot.

The pamphlets were dropped over Wana, the main town in
South Waziristan, and Miranshah in North Waziristan as part of
a campaign to win support among tribesmen who have shown
sympathy for both Taliban and remnants of al Qaeda living among
them.

A Reuters reporter in Tank, a town close to the boundary
with the semi-autonomous tribal agency of South Waziristan,
obtained one of the pamphlets, bearing the sign-off “Well
Wishers, Pakistan’s Armed Forces.”

Titled “Warning,” the pamphlets said the foreign militants
were fighting against Pakistan in connivance with “Jews and
Hindus,” a term that would play on traditional prejudices among
the region’s Muslim conservatives.

“They (foreign militants) not only pose a danger to our
sovereignty, but are also creating troubles for our people,”
read the pamphlet, which appeared in both Urdu and Pashto
language versions.

“You should stay clear of these terrorists. Don’t let them
come close to your areas and houses and protect your land
against them.”

“This war is against foreign terrorists and their harborers
who are fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with Jews and Hindus
against the state of Pakistan,” it added.

Military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said he
could not confirm that pamphlets were sponsored by the
military, although residents say they saw military aircraft
scattering the pamphlets over their neighborhoods.

The allusion to Hindus and Jews, otherwise, appears at odds
with the trend in Pakistani foreign policy.

President Pervez Musharraf has been seeking peace with
India for the past two years and last year opened diplomatic
channels, though not full relations, with Israel.

Remnants of al Qaeda and the Taliban — including Arabs,
Central Asians, Chechens and Afghans — settled in Waziristan
and other border areas after being ousted from Afghanistan by
U.S.-led forces in late 2001.

Pakistan’s army has deployed in South and North Waziristan
since late 2003 in an effort to root out foreign militants, but
ran into fierce resistance from tribesmen who resent the army’s
intrusion into their lands.

Up to 20 militants were killed in clashes early on Friday
in the North Waziristan tribal region after a rocket attack on
a military post killed one soldier and wounded two others.

Earlier this month around 200 tribesmen were killed in
clashes with the army in North Waziristan after a call to arms
by militant clerics.

Pakistan has captured or killed hundreds of al Qaeda
members since Musharraf joined a U.S.-led war on terrorism
after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is widely believed to be
hiding somewhere in Pakistan along with his deputy Ayman
al-Zawahri.