A Battlefield Tourist

Mamoond Tribe Aligns With Pakistani Army

Oct 4 at 2:02am by David Tate

In a major change in dynamics on the ground in Bajour Agency, Pakistan, members of the powerful Mamoond (Mamund) tribe have pledged allegiance to Pakistani security forces and are raising a militia to help combat militants.

On October 4, hundreds of members of the tribe held a grand jirga that resulted in the official formation of a lashkar (militia) to help expel the militants and bring stability to the agency.  In an operation declared to begin October 5, the Qaumi Lashkar is directed to burn any house found to harbor militants with a one million rupee fine ($12,800) to follow.

The jirga also agreed to peace efforts extended by the government and support its security forces.

All three major tribes in Bajour are now actively supporting the Pakistani government, with fighters, against the militants.   Militant strength throughout the agency is believed to number in the thousands.

While the US government has been actively courting tribal leaders for months, signs began showing last week that the Mamoond Tribe was beginning to defect to the government side.  Traditionally, the Mamoond Tribe is known to be aligned with militants, particularly because of inter-marriage with Al Qaeda fighters, and are represented on both sides of the border with Kunar Province, Afghanistan.

Since the offensive in Bajour began, attacks across the border in Kunar have decreased.  Reports suggest fighters attacking coalition forces in Kunar Province have been reinforcing their commrades in Bajour to the benefit of the Americans.  Kunar Province is the second most active province, in terms of militant attacks, in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani military has been pressing an offensive into Bajour since August 6 which has killed more than 1,000 militants and some 70 Pakistani soldiers.  The fighting has also displaced more than 300,000 civilians.

The fight for Bajour is being closely watched by the Americans who are pressuring the Pakistanis to be tougher on the Taliban fighters openly operating in the border regions with Afghanistan.

The Pakistani military expects the operation to be wrapped up by year’s end; a task much more realistic with the defection of the Mamoond Tribe.