Chitral�s peace at stake

With the growing focus of international media and the US intelligence agencies, which are haunting the Taliban and Alqiade-linked terror suspects in the every knock and corner of the globe, on the hilly district of NWFP, the peaceful and harmonious environment of the Chitral is on the stake.

As the US and its so-called war on terror ally�s, Pakistan, intelligence agencies failed to net the Al-Qaida and Taliban top brass form the tribal and bordering areas of Pakistan with Afghanistan, who are widely believed hiding in the areas, they now transferring their focus toward Chitral.

During the last month many articles, analysis and commentaries have been appeared in the international press and counter-terrorism sites suspecting the top leadership of the al-Qaide are hiding in the mountainous district of Chitral.
The latest one of such analysis has been appeared this week in "Global Terrorism Analysis", an international online paper, which carry out counter terrorism analysis and commentaries.

The analysis, which was written by a so-called Pakistani academic Hassan Abbas, who works on issued of terrorism, and issued by Jamestown Foundation for the counter-terrorism site, described Chitral an area of concern in the so-called war on terror, and hunt for Osama Bin Laden and other key Al Qaeda figures.

The analysis said that the northern district of the NWFP focused world attention in September 2003, when a Bin Laden videotape showed trees, what the analyst said were native to the Chitrali mountain range.
"Other links to terrorism included Abu Khabaib, an Arab explosives expert who has been spotted several times in the hills of Chitral. The man is known to have helped Sheikh Ahmed Saleem of Al Qaeda, who is said to have given money to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi for recruiting militants for Al Qaeda in Pakistan" another report said.

Abbas wrote, "Chitral, with its rich cultural heritage and changing religio-political trends, is a fascinating area in the NWFP. It is caught between diverse traditions and rumours of Al Qaeda involvement. In the backdrop of the turmoil created by pro-Taliban elements at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and the rising influence of religious political parties in the district, Chitral has become an important focus in the war on terrorism."
He noted that in terms of political orientation, Chitral had been steadily becoming more conservative. "More troubling signs" emerged in late 2004 when the offices of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme were attacked by religious extremists.
Because of Chitral�s location on the border with Afghanistan, Al Qaeda operatives may find refuge there, he suspected.
The analyst said that the mountains of the district could potentially provide a good cover, as, he noted, much of the district�s population is not friendly to Pashtuns, they may be less willing than other areas of the NWFP to provide sanctuary.
He maintained that Pashtunwali had very limited appeal in this area and Ismaili Shias, who form 35 percent of the population, are anti-Al Qaeda for sectarian reasons.

"Therefore, one can speculate that the Al Qaeda leadership may have passed through this area during their �travels� in the region, but are unlikely to consider Chitral a place where they can find safe refuge for a long period of time," Abbas concluded.

Israr Ahmed Chitrali,
News Editor
Online International News Network
Karachi Bureau.