Pakistan Tuesday Update

Waziristan Taliban vs. Al Qaeda: 

Azam Warshak has been cleared of Uzbeks and they report finding arms caches from from Hekmatyr there, along with computers. Some federal troops were injured in the fighting and flown to military hospitals. The government is still denying government involvement, however some locals suggest that the tribals were not strong enough to dislodge the veteran Uzbek fighters without assistance.

From Dawn:

The government has put the death toll of Uzbek militants since late March at more than 200 but observers, including some government officials, caution that the figure could be lower.
Estimates vary about the number of militants from the Central Asian republics in the region, ranging from a few hundred to over 1,000.
Mr Hussainzada said the Uzbek militants were on the retreat and the tribal volunteers were trying to chase them out of Ziarah Leetha on the border with Afghanistan.
An official, requesting not to be named, said the retreating Uzbeks had snatched weapons from a camp operated by the Hezb-i-Islami of Gulbuddin Hikmatyar in Azam Warsak.
Mr Hussainzada said the tribal volunteers had seized computers and ammunition from the Uzbek hideouts in Azam Warsak and other areas.
He confirmed that paramilitary forces had been ordered to take up positions on strategic hilltops in Shin Warsak and Azam Warsak to secure the area from falling back into the hands of Uzbeks and their supporters.
The government has so far denied any involvement of security forces in the tribal campaign but reports continue to emerge about paramilitary and army soldiers killed in fighting in the region.
Officials have been claiming that the few casualties the security forces had suffered were caused by mortar shellings and during the mop-up operation.

Socialists in this country have Bush Derangement Syndrome, in Pakistan the socialists have Musharaaf Derangement Syndrome, also from Dawn:

Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that intelligence agencies are behind the establishment of Shariah court in Lal Masjid-Hafsa in Islamabad.
Speaking at a party meeting in Tank on Monday, he said that the entire show of the Hafsa Madressah was enacted by secret agencies as part of a conspiracy to defame seminaries in the country.
He said that all such conspiracies against madressahs would be foiled.

He went on further to state that the whole Afghan war, the Taliban, and everything else was just a capitalist plot to divide Afghanistan, but you catch the drift here.

Lal Masjid Militant Madrassah: 

 Meanwhile, The Daily Times reports that the Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq admitted that he interceded to get Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, deputy administrator of Lal Masjid, bailed out in cases involving terrorism.  This is interesting as I believe this Ejazul is son to Zhia Al Haq who previously led Pakistan, and who also has close ties to Hamid Gul, ex-ISI who created the Taliban.

Ghazi denies the intercession that Ejazul Haq spoke of in a television interview. Haq says that he interceded based on a letter of good conduct, and now says further that the Madrassah is not budging in negotiations with the government.

UPDATE: The Government has issued a 24 hour ultimatum to the leaders of Lal Majid, as detailed in The Post:

Islamabad: While Lal Masjid clerics have sought help of madrassas countrywide to wage a war against all vices in the society, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain Tuesday warned them to show flexibility in 24 hours or get ready for an action.
Pakistan Muslim League President Ch Shujaat visited Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid on Tuesday and asked the management to end its illegal occupation of Children’s Library, reported a private TV channel. According to the report, some secret agency personnel also accompanied Ch Shujaat to Jamia Hafsa. He asked the management to show flexibility on the issue as the government wanted to avoid any operation against them. Otherwise, he added, the government would have no other option (but to launch an operation), he warned. He assured the management that the government, in response, would also show flexibility and a permanent solution would be sought through dialogue. Another meeting would be held on Wednesday (today) to resolve the issue.

In Parachinar sectarian violence has calmed due to a truce, but there is still some fighting.

Senior Miltary leaders from 21 countries are meeting in Pakistan now at the Land Forces Symposium with the focus being cooperation in the Global War on Terrorism. While there will undoubtably be a few “My eyes glaze over” white papers presented, there will also be new agreements, exhange of information, and talk of both strategy and tactics. Expect the current warfare methods to evolve over time as an outcome, and perhaps there will be a few surprises from this symposium hosted jointly by the US and Pakistan.