Sources believe that many IMU members are living under the protection of Pakistanis sympathetic to their cause in various parts of Pakistan, and in Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir.
Two recent clashes have helped focus attention on the presence of a large number of foreign fighters, including IMU members, in the tribal areas of Pakistan. In the first incident, at least 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a firefight with Islamic radicals on June 26 in South Waziristan region near the Afghan border. The fighting erupted during a search of a house by Pakistani troops. Two foreign fighters, believed to be Chechens, also died in the clash, and another was wounded and taken into custody.
The second clash occurred on July 3, when police intercepted four foreigners, believed to be Uzbeks, while traveling from the tribal areas to Peshawar. All four foreign fighters and two Pakistani security personnel died in the exchange of gunfire.
Government authority is tenuous in tribal areas, where Islamic radical fighters enjoy strong popular support. But sources in the area say that al Qaeda, Taliban and IMU fighters used the region as a stopover point during their escape from the US anti-terrorist campaign in neighboring Afghanistan. Many regrouped and moved on.
A few local drivers, who all spoke on condition of anonymity, say that a large number of Arab fighters hired vehicles to take them to the Pakistani coast in Baluchistan, from where they secured passage on vessels that returned them to Middle Eastern nations. Others hired vehicles to take them to towns in Baluchistan near the Iranian border, possibly to go to Iran and beyond.
While many Arab nationals appear to have left Pakistan, Chechens and Uzbeks remain in the country in large part because they cannot return to their homelands, and lack the ability to travel elsewhere. Sources in South Waziristan say many Uzbeks and Chechens headed towards urban centers in Punjab and Sindh, including Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. Several Uzbeks also headed for Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
Al Qaeda, Taliban and IMU loyalists began arriving in Pakistan in December, slipping into South Waziristan after being dislodged from the Tora Bora and Shahikot areas of Afghanistan by a relentless US bombing campaign.
Pakistani security forces have clashed with the suspected Islamic radical fighters on at least three occasions since December. Overall, 18 Pakistani law-enforcement personnel and 17 suspected al Qaeda and IMU fighters have died in the three incidents.
Editor's note:
Arif Jamal is a freelance journalist based in Pakistan.
