Pakistani guard on alert

Supply to NATO forces fighting a fierce battle against Taliban fighters remained cut-off as two terrorist groups in the area from where the supply to Afghanistan is being made have been fighting against each others. Both the groups have been using heavy weapons. Reports reaching to Peshawar from Khyber Agency said that dozens of people have been killed in the fighting. Pakistani forces deployed on the sideline of the war zone have so far made no intervention. The Pak-Afghan highway remains closed for all types of vehicular traffic. The highway has been closed some five days ago. Fierce clashes erupted in Shahkas area of Jamurd, Khyber Agency between the heavily armed activists of Lashkar-e-Islam and a sub-clan of Kukikhel tribe, in the evening on Wednesday. Both the sides have been preparing for an armed confrontation in the past two months by hiring veterans of Afghan civil war and purchasing and deploying heavy weapons including RPG-7s and long-range machineguns. Tension had increased between the two groups when Mangal Bagh, the head of Lashkar, asked drug sellers to closed down their businesses as soon as possible otherwise a cleanup operation would be launched against them. They blamed a particular family for providing shelter to criminals, asking it give up the practice. This forced the target family to hire people for its protection by establishing bunkers along the main Jamrud road. A week earlier, tension further increased when the Lashkar seized a hujra and mosque of its opponents in the area and deployed its armed volunteers there. On Wednesday, in Takhta Beg area clashes started when armed rivals came face to face and opened firing at each other. The gun battle soon spread to other parts. This forced the shopkeepers in Jamrud Bazaar to close down their shops. Security officials told the Statesman that they had confirmed report that two people had sustained injuries in the fight and both of them were Kukikhels. On the other hand, a grand jirga of Kukikhel had asked the government to intervene and bring the situation under control. They also warned that any loss of life and material would be properly avenged and Mangal Bagh group would be responsible for it. They said that the Lashkar had no right to start a cleanup operation in their area and they would do it themselves on self-help basis. On the contrary, Mangal Bagh has said that they would not tolerate drug pushers in the area and the operation would continue till their elimination from the locality. "We are the messengers of peace in the area and would not tolerate any un-Islamic activity," he added. Addressing on his FM radio station, Mangal Bagh warned the government forces to leave Bara overnight and closed down all the schools in the area to avoid loss of life due to the on-going fighting. The End