From Al Jazeera English
The announcement was made following a grand jirga of the Mullah Nazir group, a 120-member 2007 peace committee of the Ahmedzai Wazir clan, the elders of all nine Ahmedzai tribes and their sub-tribes at main Rustam Bazaar market of Wana, the capital of South Waziristan.
Nazir was wounded Thursday when a suicide bomber exploded near his car at Rustam Bazaar, killing at least eight and injuring 17 others.
It was unclear who was behind the attempt on the militant commander’s life, but Nazir has a long list of enemies.
Announcements were made Saturday on loudspeakers in Azam Warsak, Karikort, Wana and Toikhula bazaar by Nazir loyalists, warning Mehsud Taliban fighters to leave their area by Dec 5 or face action. The group also asked all Mehsud tribesmen, who had taken refuge in the area being displaced as a result of an earlier Pakistan Army operation to cleanse the area of anti-government militants.
Nazir, an elder in the Wazir tribe, opposes Uzbek fighters and has had awkward relations with the umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction, which is dominated by members of the rival Mehsud tribe and lead by Hakeemullah Mehsud.
Tribal affairs and militancy expert Rahimullah Yousufzai warned earlier that Thursday’s suicide attack could spark a new wave of bloodshed in the restive tribal belt.
“It is difficult to say who could be behind the latest attack because Mullah Nazir has problems with Uzbeks, IMU and the TTP,” Yousufzai told news agency AFP. “The enmity with the TTP will rise further if Nazir’s group finds TTP’s involvement in the attack.”
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Main photo: courtesy of AFP
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