Pakistan has imposed an economic blockade on the mountain stronghold of Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taleban, in an effort to turn his tribesmen against him and encourage civilians to flee before a planned ground offensive, according to local officials.
Authorities are also arresting dozens of Mehsud tribesmen and shutting down the businesses of others on the fringes of South Waziristan — thought to be the hiding place of Osama bin Laden — under a draconian “collective responsibility” law which was introduced in the British colonial era.
Britain imposed the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) in 1901 in an effort to control the local Pashtun tribes, whose strict honour code obliges them to give sanctuary to anyone who requests it, including, since 2001, many Afghan Taleban and al-Qaeda leaders.
Under the regulations, which are still in force in Pakistani tribal areas, the Government can punish an entire tribe that refuses to hand over a wanted person by detaining its members, fining them and confiscating or destroying their property.
A local intelligence official told The Times that the army had blocked all three main roads leading to Mr Mehsud’s territory in South Waziristan and allowed only civilians to leave the area. A member of the Mehsud tribe in the town of Tank, close to South Waziristan, said that his store and dozens of others owned by Mehsuds had been sealed under the FCR. “If the Government can’t get control of Baitullah and his men, then how can they put pressure on us poor people to control them?” he asked.
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Economic blockades aren’t particularly effective, especially in regions as porous as the mountains of Pakistan. Chances are the government has just made recruiting easier for the Taliban.