ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - A top Pakistani Islamic cleric warned Monday of "riots and civil disobedience" if President Gen. Pervez Musharraf does not halt the search for al-Qaida fugitives in the fiercely independent tribal regions.
"I warn Musharraf to refrain from expanding operations in tribal areas where tribesmen are extremely upset due to the raids conducted on their houses," Maulana Fazle ur-Rehman, chief of the fundamentalist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from the eastern city of Lahore.
"I am trying my best to cool down my party in tribal areas, but things will slip out of my hands if these American-backed operations continue there," he said. "There will be riots and civil disobedience."
Rehman said there are no al-Qaida hiding in the tribal belt.
"If the government has any specific information about their whereabouts, it should contact us and we will try to resolve this matter through peaceful means," he said.
Rehman's JUI is strong in the tribal belt. His party espouses a philosophy similar to that of the Taliban who were defeated in Afghanistan.
Rehman's comments came just days after 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a shootout with suspected al-Qaida men in the lawless tribal region.
The troops, backed by helicopters and FBI intelligence, have arrested at least 20 men since Wednesday in the largest Pakistani deployment against al-Qaida infiltration since Sept. 11, when Musharraf pledged support for the U.S.-led war on terrorism, authorities said.
According to interior ministry officials the U.S. government will give five helicopters and three surveillance airplanes to Pakistan on Tuesday to be used to monitor the western border and tribal region.
"It's a shame for the nation that American forces are searching tribal areas of Pakistan," Rehman said. "This search could be counter productive."
But, Musharraf's chief spokesman Maj. Gen. Rashid Quereshi denied that American soldiers were waging their war on terrorism in Pakistan. He said their assistance is limited to intelligence gathering.
"No American troops are on the ground in our tribal areas," Quereshi told reporters in southern Karachi on Sunday.
Rehman said tribesmen in the conservative region are growing increasingly angry with the military-led government.