Tribal Allies of Al Qaeda Submit to Pakistan Army

[54anickel]

How is Shrub going to take this? :shrug:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4928896&pageNumber=0

SHAKAI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Five tribesmen accused of sheltering al Qaeda militants surrendered to the Pakistan army at a tribal council on Saturday, after being hunted for a week in mountains on the border with Afghanistan.

The five fugitives were expected to hand in a list of foreign militants living with them in South Waziristan, a desolate region where al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri have been pursued in the past.

Thousands of turbaned Pashtun tribesmen looked on as the five men from the Zali Kheil tribe turned themselves in before a "jirga," or tribal council, and pledged loyalty to Pakistan in return for clemency.

snip>
"We give amnesty to these people in return for their pledge of brotherhood and loyalty," said Lieutenant-General Safdar Hussain, the regional army commander, who arrived at the jirga to chants of "Allahu Akbar," or "God is Greatest."

[bigendian]

1. Wait and see.

I don't know how * will take it. He will probably fall for it but the double-deal is standard practice. If the pledge is sincere then things must really be bad for the tribes.
No telling how long Pervez can hold on though. He still has way more enemies than friends.

[shadu]

2. Sounds more like the 'two sides' are uniting against us

I would expect that 'forthcoming list of foreign militants living with them in South Waziristan' has already been forgotten.