Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Philadelphia Inquirer
February 21, 2008 By Kathy Gannon, Associated Press
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Fed up with violence and economic hardship, voters in the deeply conservative northwest have thrown out the Islamist parties that ruled this province for five years - a clear sign they are rejecting religious extremism in a region where al-Qaeda and the Taliban have sought refuge.
Instead, voters in turbulent North West Frontier province, which borders Afghanistan, gave their support to secular parties that promised to pave the streets, create jobs, and bring peace through dialogue and economic incentives to the extremists.
That might conflict with U.S. pressure to step up the fight against armed extremists linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
"They didn't do anything for the people," Bokhari Shah, 65, said of the religious parties. "They have done nothing to help the people, and we are afraid to even come out from our homes because of all these bomb blasts."
Retired soldier Mohammed Akram Shah said the extremists made false promises. "They said they would give us education, food and jobs," he said, "but they didn't give us anything. They were all lies. I am from a village of more than 30 homes, and we don't have any electricity even after five years."
That was how long ago voters in this mostly Pashtun province elected a provincial government dominated by a coalition of pro-Taliban clerics - the United Action Alliance.
Since then vast areas of the region have been transformed into a war zone, where Pakistani soldiers sought to crush a burgeoning Islamic insurgency. The province has been hit by repeated suicide attacks and bombings.
Powerless to stop the extremists, local police stood by as tribal leaders opposed to the Taliban were slain and owners of video and music stores received threats to close their businesses or face death.
After Monday's election, the new provincial government is expected to be led by the Awami National Party, a left-leaning, secular group that backed the pro-Soviet government in Afghanistan in its war against U.S. and Pakistani-backed Islamic guerrillas in the 1980s.
An official of the pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema Islam party blamed the loss on a decision by several Islamist factions to boycott the ballot, contending any election under President Pervez Musharraf could not be free and fair.
Many voters who turned away from the Islamists appeared to be motivated by bread-and-butter issues - and not Islamic fervor.
"People were angry and disappointed," said Amjad Ali, who sells grain in Bazit Khiel, nine miles south of Peshawar.
"The Taliban are over there not far from our area," he said, gesturing toward nearby hills. "But the people will never allow them to come over here. We don't want the violence."
Despite revulsion against the extremists, there is little support here for the U.S.-backed war against terror - especially if it involves deploying American soldiers here.
The provincial leader of the Awami party, Afrasiab Khattak, also wants the Pakistani army to leave the tribal areas.
"We have to make the Pashtuns who are involved in extremism sit down and we have to talk to them," Khattak said. "Most of those who are involved are absolutely mistaken, misguided and brainwashed."
Instead, Khattak wants to reach out to the extremists with incentives such as jobs and educational opportunities.
But he does not rule out force as a last resort, adding that those who continue to fight should be dealt with through "good intelligence and strategic strikes not brute force." But he rules out American forces joining the fight.
"This is not our war," Khattak added. "It is imposed upon us. We don't want any foreigners on our land. As Pashtuns, we can solve the problem of extremism."
February 21, 2008 By Kathy Gannon, Associated Press
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Fed up with violence and economic hardship, voters in the deeply conservative northwest have thrown out the Islamist parties that ruled this province for five years - a clear sign they are rejecting religious extremism in a region where al-Qaeda and the Taliban have sought refuge.
Instead, voters in turbulent North West Frontier province, which borders Afghanistan, gave their support to secular parties that promised to pave the streets, create jobs, and bring peace through dialogue and economic incentives to the extremists.
That might conflict with U.S. pressure to step up the fight against armed extremists linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
"They didn't do anything for the people," Bokhari Shah, 65, said of the religious parties. "They have done nothing to help the people, and we are afraid to even come out from our homes because of all these bomb blasts."
Retired soldier Mohammed Akram Shah said the extremists made false promises. "They said they would give us education, food and jobs," he said, "but they didn't give us anything. They were all lies. I am from a village of more than 30 homes, and we don't have any electricity even after five years."
That was how long ago voters in this mostly Pashtun province elected a provincial government dominated by a coalition of pro-Taliban clerics - the United Action Alliance.
Since then vast areas of the region have been transformed into a war zone, where Pakistani soldiers sought to crush a burgeoning Islamic insurgency. The province has been hit by repeated suicide attacks and bombings.
Powerless to stop the extremists, local police stood by as tribal leaders opposed to the Taliban were slain and owners of video and music stores received threats to close their businesses or face death.
After Monday's election, the new provincial government is expected to be led by the Awami National Party, a left-leaning, secular group that backed the pro-Soviet government in Afghanistan in its war against U.S. and Pakistani-backed Islamic guerrillas in the 1980s.
An official of the pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema Islam party blamed the loss on a decision by several Islamist factions to boycott the ballot, contending any election under President Pervez Musharraf could not be free and fair.
Many voters who turned away from the Islamists appeared to be motivated by bread-and-butter issues - and not Islamic fervor.
"People were angry and disappointed," said Amjad Ali, who sells grain in Bazit Khiel, nine miles south of Peshawar.
"The Taliban are over there not far from our area," he said, gesturing toward nearby hills. "But the people will never allow them to come over here. We don't want the violence."
Despite revulsion against the extremists, there is little support here for the U.S.-backed war against terror - especially if it involves deploying American soldiers here.
The provincial leader of the Awami party, Afrasiab Khattak, also wants the Pakistani army to leave the tribal areas.
"We have to make the Pashtuns who are involved in extremism sit down and we have to talk to them," Khattak said. "Most of those who are involved are absolutely mistaken, misguided and brainwashed."
Instead, Khattak wants to reach out to the extremists with incentives such as jobs and educational opportunities.
But he does not rule out force as a last resort, adding that those who continue to fight should be dealt with through "good intelligence and strategic strikes not brute force." But he rules out American forces joining the fight.
"This is not our war," Khattak added. "It is imposed upon us. We don't want any foreigners on our land. As Pashtuns, we can solve the problem of extremism."