Pakistan's top pro-Taliban Islamic cleric warns of violent riots and civil disobedience

[ChrisD(RJ)]

Pakistan's top pro-Taliban Islamic cleric warns of violent riots and civil
disobedience in tribal region if hunt for
al-Qaida not stopped
By MUNIR AHMAD
Associated Press Writer
  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.