Pakistan Troops Surrender To Militants

Dozens of paramilitary troops defected in northwest Pakistan, saying Friday they did not want to fight their Muslim brothers - an embarrassment to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf as he struggles to regain control of a mountainous region from Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.

The rising violence and political turmoil has fueled fears that the U.S.-backed leader could extend his military rule by imposing a state of emergency or martial law, jeopardizing a promised transition to democracy.

The administration of President Bush and European allies have urged against such measures, a Western diplomat in Islamabad said.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, beginning a diplomatic mission to Turkey and the Middle East, told reporters in Ireland: "I think it would be quite obvious that the United States wouldn't be supportive of extraconstitutional means."

The Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the issue's sensitivity, said elements in Pakistan's ruling party were pushing for such a move in case the Supreme Court disqualifies Musharraf's Oct. 6 presidential victory because he contested while still army chief.

A verdict is due before his current term expires on Nov. 15, after which Pakistan is due to hold parliamentary elections by January.

The deteriorating security situation is adding to the sense of crisis. Pakistan has been rocked by a string of deadly suicide bombings and clashes with Islamic militants, who have expanded their influence inland beyond existing strongholds in border regions.

The army said it killed up to 70 rebels Thursday, when helicopter gunships pounded the once-popular resort area of Swat, where a hard-line cleric is trying to enforce Taliban-style rule. The militants said the toll was exaggerated, and pointed to their own successes Friday.

Masked extremists armed with AK-47 assault rifles and long knives escorted journalists to a two-story concrete building in the town of Charabagh to show off 48 men who surrendered after the bloody battle.

Most were described as paramilitary troops from the Frontier Corps. They were released after the display.

"We have surrendered to these mujahedeen," said Barkat Ullah, 24, who, like other captives, wore civilian clothes, saying they had left their uniforms at their posts. "We had no ammunition. We had no other option."

The alarming situation in Swat is seen as a possible pretext for Musharraf to impose martial law. Government officials say about 180 people, mostly militants, have died in fighting since a major deployment of paramilitary forces there last week to tackle the followers of fundamentalist cleric Maulana Fazlullah.

The casualty figures are difficult to verify in the volatile, mountainous region. Fazlullah claims only eight of his men have died so far.

Fazlullah's spokesman, Sirajuddin, said that in addition to the 48 troops who were freed Friday, 100 more security forces had surrendered to militants in Swat.

Those held in Charabagh said they did not want to fight other Muslims and fellow Pashtun tribesmen. They told reporters they were resigning from their jobs.

"I will prefer to become a laborer instead of fighting against our own people," said Riaz Khan, 24.

Mohammed Hanif, an aide of Fazlullah, said militants had also captured two foreign men but had yet to decide what to do with them. He had no details about their nationality or occupation. Local media reports have suggested they are journalists.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, who announced the reported militant death toll on Thursday, declined to comment Friday on the surrenders.

In addition to the violence in Swat, Pakistani forces are struggling with pro-Taliban militants in the North Waziristan - a tribal region bordering Afghanistan - where U.S. officials fear al Qaeda could be regrouping.
A missile, apparently fired by a low-flying drone, destroyed a suspect militant hide-out in Danday village Friday, killing 10 people and wounding 11, residents and two local security officials said on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The officials described the casualties as local Taliban.

Arshad said he had no information about the incident, although it took place just a few miles from a major Pakistan army base in Miran Shah.

Local shop owner Arman Khan was one of several residents who reported seeing a drone flying from the direction of Afghanistan about an hour before the attack - adding to the suspicions of some that U.S. forces on the other side of the border could have been responsible.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said he did not think it was a U.S. military strike. Asked if any other U.S. agency, such as the CIA, could have launched the missile, he said, "I only talk for the United States military."

Suspected U.S. missiles have struck suspected militant hideouts in Pakistan's tribal regions before.

In January 2006, missiles allegedly fired from a CIA Predator drone hit houses in Bajur, targeting al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri and killing at least 13 people. Al-Zawahri was not in the area at the time, according to Pakistani intelligence officials.

Friday's missile strike came as Adm. William Fallon, the chief of the U.S. Central Command, met with Musharraf and other top generals to discuss the volatile situation in Pakistan's northwest.

Washington backs Musharraf as a bulwark in its war on terrorism.

The escalating violence has increased Pakistani public resentment over Musharraf's U.S. alliance, established in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, has seen his popularity plummet this year and has sought a rapprochement with opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. He is promising to stand down as army chief if he is awarded a new five-year presidential term and then rule as a civilian.

If the Supreme Court rules in his favor, as most analysts expect, he can press ahead with that plan. Although Musharraf is on shaky legal ground, many believe the 11-judge bench will be reluctant to risk destabilizing Pakistan further by ruling against him.

The specter of emergency rule - aired by some government ministers, only to be denied by others - is widely viewed as a tactic to pressure the court not to stand in Musharraf's way.

"It's like theater," said Talat Masood, a retired general and political analyst. "They spread rumors and then try and contradict them. But I'm certain there are certain people pushing for it, particularly in the ruling party, because they don't see much prospect of winning an honest election."

Azim Chaudhry, a senior leader from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, denied there was any prospect of martial law - a situation in which the army takes total control and its rule cannot be challenged in the courts.

But he said a state of emergency - in which the federal government assumes greater power, some fundamental rights are suspended and elections could be delayed - remains a possibility.

"This option has been discussed, but no final decision has been taken," he said, adding the government would have to seek parliamentary approval after declaring an emergency.