India-Pakistan: July 5, 2004

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In Pakistan, members of the Kurmazkhel and Kakakhel clans of the Ahmadzai Wazir, along the Afghan border, have been pressed by hundreds of armed volunteers, to surrender several foreigners who have taken refuge with them. The government has forced the issue by blocking truck traffic to many tribal areas in North and South Waziristan, which has caused shortages and gotten the attention of the tribes. The army has lifted the blockade for ten days to avoid food shortages, and to reward the tribes for going after the armed foreigners (thought to be al Qaeda) living in their midst. The roadblocks have proved to be an effective tactic, because the tribes have become dependant on the truck traffic for consumer goods, as well as staples. You can move only a fraction of that traffic cross country, so the control of the roads provides more control over the tribes than was the case in the past when the tribes were more self-sufficient.  

 

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