KABUL // Tribal leaders from southeastern Afghanistan have called on the government and its US allies to change their tactics or risk facing a mass uprising.
The elders and clerics from Paktika province said air strikes, house raids and arbitrary detentions are alienating the population. If they are not stopped, the kind of resistance experienced by the Soviets could soon develop.
“During the time of the Russians all the people raised their hands and said they wanted jihad. Right now there are a few provinces doing this,” said Sayed Abdul Hai Hashimi, an elder. “But if the government and the Americans keep arresting our teachers and religious people it is the end of the line and there will be no other way for us. We will have to start jihad.”
Paktika has been the scene of intense fighting this year. The US-led coalition frequently sends out press releases detailing its operations there, including a recent one in which eight militants linked to the senior Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani were said to have been captured.
However, elders are so enraged at what is happening in the province that dozens of them have come to Kabul in an effort to meet the president, Hamid Karzai.
Mr Hashimi demanded that the government and its allies consult them when they want to detain any suspected members of the Taliban or al Qa’eda. Air strikes must also be halted.
“This is the worst situation that we have faced in Paktika,” he said. “The Russians were very good compared to this. They were not wild like the Americans.”
Violence has surged dramatically in Afghanistan this year. More than 260 foreign troops have already died, up from 232 in the whole of last year.
more at link:
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081126/FOREIGN/647788803/1103/ART______________________________________
A good article, worth the read.