TTP threatens contractors on development projects; asks Daree Mehsud stop playing in hands of administration:

Saleem Mehsud

WANA, Mar 29: Reiterating its stated position of war against the government of Pakistan, the banned Tehrek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has threatened contractors working on military and government projects in South Waziristan Agency (SWA) to stop work or face the consequences.

According to a pamphlet circulated in SWA and tribal offices in Tank, the adjoining district of the tribal belt, the banned TTP warned contractors not to execute development projects in SWA, former stronghold of the TTP fighters loyal to slain TTP commander Baitullah Mehsud who was killed in US drone strike in 2009.

“The pamphlet also warned ‘Daree Mehsud’, three main sub-tribes of Mehsud, to refrain from playing in the hands of government and local administration.”

The pamphlet asked contractors to quit government-financed projects in SWA and also the projects initiated by the armed forces in the rugged region with an aim to reduce economic woes in the war torn area.

Previously, militants threatened only Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) projects but this time the pamphlet issued by the TTP’s branch for Mehsud area warned the contractors working on government funded projects to abstain from cooperating with the administration.

The pamphlet warned contractors of dire consequences if they continued their work in South Waziristan. Since the military operation launched in 2009 against the TTP in SWA till now TTP did not warn people working on government financed projects. However many people were kidnapped especially those working with NGO’s who were on the target list of the TTP.

It is pertinent to be mentioned here that government has claimed that majority of the areas and stronghold of the TTP were being wrenched by the armed forces during their operation against the militants and that the government launched rehabilitation process to relocate the migrated families in SWA was proceeding according to programme.

The government has launched developmental projects to bring economic prosperity to the area but the threats to contractors and people of Mehsud tribe to abstain from cooperation with the administration would severely affect the developmental activities in SWA. Earlier several elders of the Mehsud tribe had been targeted by unknown armed men for their cooperation with the government and it would be difficult for the locals to participate in activities in SWA in the face of TTP’s bare threat.