A senior US Army official greets Shinwari tribal leaders during a gathering of Shinwari tribal leaders at the Afghan Border Police compound in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan.
–AP Photo
JALALABAD: An eastern Afghan tribe has signed a pact to keep the Taliban out of their lands, pledging to burn down the houses of those who shelter insurgents and force them to pay fines high as $20,000, reports AP.
US military officials Wednesday welcomed the decision by the Shinwari tribe with a pledge of $1 million for a tribal fund and $200,000 in jobs programs. But they acknowledged that the tribe was uniquely positioned to defy the Taliban with its sizable militia and a history of unity against outsiders.
The Shinwari, which dominate five districts of about 600,000 people in Nangarhar province, agreed in the document signed by 170 elders to stand unified against the Taliban. Tribal leaders said the agreement was borne as much out of frustration with the Afghan government as the desire to keep out militants.
The agreement affirms that the tribe ”recognizes that the Afghan government supports their cause.” But it adds that ”defensive preparations have to be taken” in case of a fallout with the government.
”We can’t go to the government for anything,” said Malik Niyaz, the white-bearded head of one of the most powerful of the tribe’s 12 subgroups. He said his people are used to defending themselves…
…”We determined that the tribal elders were the ones that really represented the people,” said Lt. Col. Randall Simmons, commander of U.S. troops in eastern Nangarhar. He said other Shinwari leaders have forces similar in size to Niyaz’s informal groups of men who are ready to be called up to fight.
Despite the tribe’s misgivings about the government, US officials called the decision a step forward because the tribe has at least said it is willing to work with the Afghan leadership, for example in reintegrating tribe members who have joined the Taliban but are ready to abandon the insurgency…
The entire article is at Dawn.com
