PAKISTAN: Pro-Taliban militants and Pakistani soldiers battled for control of a major tribal town during President George Bush's visit to Pakistan this weekend, signalling a worrying decline in security in the semi-lawless tribal areas.
Helicopter gunships, heavy artillery and small arms fire were used during 24 hours of fighting in Miran Shah, the capital of North Waziristan tribal agency. At least 46 militants and five soldiers died, an army spokesman said.
The violence underscored the instability of the tribal belt, where a number of al-Qaeda members, possibly including Osama bin Laden, are sheltering among sympathetic Pashtun tribesmen.
"There's a lot of work to be done in defeating al-Qaeda," Mr Bush said after meeting President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad on Saturday. At about the same time, in the town of Miran Shah, 180 miles to the west, helicopter gunships were strafing a telephone exchange captured by the rebels. The army also trained its guns on a religious school run by an extremist Islamist cleric, Maulana Sadiq Noor.
The weekend battle was the heaviest since a clash in South Waziristan in 2004 left more than 600 soldiers dead.
The fighting eased yesterday, allowing residents to flee. The streets were empty, the bazaar deserted and a fire-bombed bank was smouldering, according to a military spokesman, Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan. He said that the violence had been sparked by an army ambush on a militant hide-out, 10 miles outside Miran Shah, last Wednesday. "We were able to kill over 45 militants and destroy their base," he added.
It was possible civilians had died, he admitted, saying: "Yes, we feel sorry for them. But if their compounds are being used by militants, then we have to respond."
Analysts said that the military offensive was probably timed to impress Mr Bush. "It is a little too coincidental," said Samina Ahmed, of the International Crisis Group.
A tight security cordon was lifted from Islamabad yesterday as opposition politicians who had been detained to prevent them protesting against the US president's visit were released.
Those placed under house arrest included Imran Khan, the former international cricketer, who said that 160 of his supporters had been detained. "Bush came here to weaken democracy by strengthening a dictator," he said. "Parts of the country are slipping into civil war because of these policies."
The arrests were at variance with comments by Gen Musharraf that he had nurtured the "essence of democracy" in Pakistan. Mr Bush emphasised the need for elections in 2007, apparently to quash suggestions by some Musharraf officials that the poll might be postponed.
Internal conflicts have tested Gen Musharraf's authority in recent months. Tribal rebels in Baluchistan province have stepped up their attacks on military installations and gas pipelines, inflicting many casualties. And 11 soldiers were wounded yesterday in an ambush in Pathar Nala village, south-east of Quetta.
In southern Afghanistan, meanwhile, a Canadian officer was critically injured after a militant attacked him with an axe during a meeting of village elders. The soldier "had removed his helmet as a sign of respect", according to a Canadian military statement. - (Guardian Service)