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Name of replacement for Nek:

http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en68432&F_catID=&f_type=source

Wana: Bazaars remain closed as tribesmen condole with Nek Muhammad?s family

WANA: The situation was calm and peaceful here and in rest of South Waziristan on Saturday as tribesmen flocked Kaloosha village to offer condolences to the family of Nek Muhammad, the pro-Taliban tribal militant who was killed in a laser-guided missile strike on Friday.

The mourners also travelled to other villages in Wana valley to condole with the families of the five other tribesmen killed along with Nek Muhammad. There were reports that Sharif Khan and his brother Nur Islam, colleagues of the late Nek Muhammad and also wanted by the government for allegedly sheltering foreign militants, were among the tribesmen who visited Dhog village to offer condolences on the death of Yasin and Tor, the sons of late Sher Zaman Ashrafkhel whose home was hit by the missile.

Nek Muhammad was spending the night in Dhog in Ashrafkhel?s home when it was struck by the precision-guided missile. Eyewitnesses said Nek Muhammad and the five other men were sitting outside in the lawn enjoying Wana?s pleasant evening breeze when they were attacked. A visit to the site of the attack showed that the missile strike was so perfect that it did not damage any part of the building except the lawn where Nek Muhammad was seated. The missile had dug a hole into the earth and damaged some plants.

Villagers confirmed that Nek Muhammad had been using his satellite phone just before the missile attack. It is widely believed here that a drone overhead tracked down his satellite phone and communicated his location to a missile battery for the strike. Some villagers, who had been out on their roofs to guard their homes, claimed they saw a bright white ray of light emanating from the white unmanned aircraft just before the missile attack.

The issue was also discussed here at the places where Fateha for Nek Muhammad and the other five deceased was being offered. Almost every tribesman is convinced that the US military provided the technology that tracked down Nek Muhammad?s satellite phone and enabled the Pakistan Army to target his hideout. Without exception, the tribesmen were found blaming the US for killing Nek Muhammad.

In Kaloosha, Nek Muhammad?s brother Lal Muhammad, who is a laboratory attendant at a private hospital in Wana, and his uncle and father-in-law Sadiq Khan sat in a tent erected in an open space to receive all those visiting them for offering condolences. The army had demolished Nek Muhammad?s home as punishment for harbouring foreign militants.

The 27-year-old Nek Muhammad had married Sadiq Khan?s daughter, who also happened to be his cousin, barely two weeks ago. It was his second marriage. He has four children from his first wife.

The bazaars in Wana and Azam Warsak remained closed and public transport was off the roads. The economic sanctions imposed by the government against the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe for failure to expel foreign militants from Wana valley were still in place. Life was paralysed and tribesmen complained of rising prices and lack of market for their ripe plums, peaches, tomatoes and other vegetables.

The military operation in Baghar near the border with Afghanistan has also been halted. Access to that area was still denied through road blockades. There were reports that two members of the Malikkhel sub-tribe loyal to Nek Muhammad had been killed in that aerial bombing unleashed by jet-fighters and helicopter gunships. A number of women were also injured in the bombing and had to be shifted to Bannu and Peshawar for medical treatment.

Speculation was also on as to who would replace Nek Muhammad as the spokesman and commander of the group of tribal Islamic militants in Wana. Apart from Nek Muhammad?s four colleagues Sharif Khan, Nur Islam, Maulana Muhammad Abbas and Maulana Abdul Aziz, the names of Khan Muhammad and Allah Noor were being mentioned as his possible successor. The last-named is a cousin of Nek Muhammad.

Meanwhile, a Jirga of tribal elders led by Malik Muhammad Younis reached Shakai from Bannu on Saturday. The Jirga members belong to the Sperkay sub-tribe, who also live in Shakai and were affected by the recent military operation in their area. The Jirga, backed by the government, was expected to console the tribesmen and assess the damage caused by the bombing by the warplanes and helicopter gunships in the hope of securing compensation from the government. Senator and tribal elder Faridullah Khan, who owns property in both Bannu and Shakai, was reported to have sent the Jirga with the consent of the government.

More phone calls:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_20-6-2004_pg7_1

Wana calm after Nek?s killing

* Sultan says govt ready to deal with any backlash
* Reiterates amnesty offer
* Army denies reports about US help
* Afghan refugees ordered to leave South Waziristan
* Nek?s aides ready to avenge his death

By Iqbal Khattak

PESHAWAR: South Waziristan Agency was calm a day after the death of rebel leader Nek Muhammad in a missile attack on Friday.

?There has been no (violent) reaction to Nek?s death so far,? a tribal elder told Daily Times by phone from Kalosha. ?The day was very quiet,? he added. Military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan also reported that the area was calm and hoped, ?Things are moving in the right direction.?

Not a big majority of tribal people were shocked by Nek?s killing. Daily Times learnt this by interviewing a cross section of people via phone in Wana, Azam Warsak and Kalosha.

?I would say that perhaps 40 percent people are in shock. Nek was a hero for these people. But wiser people also say whatever is happening in Waziristan is because of him,? said a tribal elder, requesting anonymity.

His supporters were made to believe that Nek was ?like a tank? and that the Pakistan Army was unlikely to eliminate him physically, he said.

?I think Nek?s followers are in deep shock because a new dimension ? the use of guided missiles ? was added to the operation. There was no quick reaction on the first day after his burial because his followers were probably taking stock of the situation before launching a counter-strike,? a former Inter Services Intelligence official said. He said the government must be ready for any ?adventure? by Nek?s followers to avenge his death.

Intelligence sources said situation was being monitored closely. They said foreigners and Nek?s followers would stay quiet for some time.

Sources said that wanted tribesman Muhammad Javed Karmazkhel might lead the post-Nek resistance. He is in his early 30s and regarded as ?as good fighter? like Nek. Karmazkhel, said a pro-Nek tribesman, might prove to be real successor to ?ameer? Nek.

But the government appears to have hardened its stance to tackle foreign terrorists. On Saturday, the administration shifted key arrested elders from Waziristan to unknown places.

Agencies add: ?If there is any backlash, we are prepared to deal with it,? Maj Gen Sultan told Reuters.

He said amnesty would be offered to foreign fighters and the tribesmen who had sheltered them, but only if they laid down their arms.

?In case of locals, amnesty will be given to those who lay down their weapons and denounce militancy,? he said. ?Foreigners will have to do the same, but they will also have to get themselves registered, photographed and fingerprinted,? he said.

Failure to take up the offer, he said, would lead to a further crackdown by the military, which has been battling the militants for months in a campaign to rid Pakistan of radicals.

Maj Gen Sultan denied reports regarding US help in Nek?s killing, saying it was an operation of the Pakistan security forces, APP reported.

?Eight people were killed in the attack including Nek and three foreigners,? Maj-Gen Sultan told AFP.

The close aides of Nek have vowed to step up their activities against the government, Online reported. A close associate of Nek said on Saturday that a large number of the slain leader?s friends were still present in Wana and surrounding areas and they would avenge his killing. ?Our operations will continue and the anti Muslim forces will have to face the consequences,? he said.

The South Waziristan administration on Saturday ordered Afghan refugees to leave the area. The Afghan refugees were ordered to report to the Dhahra refugee camp or go to their homeland.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Secretary on Finance Qamar Ayub Khan said that the Wana operation was against foreign militants hiding in South Waziristan.

“Some villagers, who had been out on their roofs to guard their homes, claimed they saw a bright white ray of light emanating from the white unmanned aircraft just before the missile attack.”

LOL, when I read that the literacy rate in South Waziristan was only 18% (to a six-grade level) for men and under 1% for women, I had my doubts, but this story sure supports that claim!

First, by definition, there is no such thing as a "white laser". Second, the laser the Predator uses emits infrared light. Can you imagine anything as dumb as a targeting system that uses a laser that can be seen by everyone, especially the target? Third, if the attack occurred, as reported, at 9:30PM, how did they see the "white aircraft" and how could they tell it was unmanned? (Typical stand-off distances for the Predator would be two to three miles.) Fourth, how could they see the missile since its engine burns out in the first 2-3 seconds of flight and essentially coasts (at mach 1.25) its' way to the target?

"Why, Nek, what big eyes you have. All the better to see the infrared laser coming, my dear."

What a bunch of maroons!

--Boot Hill