Islamic militants opposed to U.S. airstrikes roil northern Pakistan

By TED ANTHONY
Associated Press Writer

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Islamic militants caused scattered disorder across northern Pakistan on Monday, blockading the fabled Silk Road and seizing part of a town to protest their government's support for U.S.-led strikes on Afghanistan.

The Frontier Constabulary negotiated with pro-Taliban militants throughout the day, exhorting them to stand down from seven segments of the Karakoram Highway – Pakistan's paved portion of the Silk Road – and, separately, retreat from the remote town of Chilas.

They apparently refused. Officials in the north said the 750-mile Karakoram Highway remained blocked Monday night with boulders and small land mines in seven locations.

Witnesses reached by telephone said women in Bisham, one Karakoram town, demonstrated against the militants Monday, saying the road closure prevented them from getting water and grass for cattle and wood for burning. They also said they were uncomfortable in the presence of male outsiders.

In Chilas, hundreds of armed pro-Taliban Pakistanis reportedly seized some local government offices and occupied an abandoned airstrip. Maj. Fazal Durrani, chief secretary for the northern areas, said the town's government and schools were still operating.

Farooq Khan, a Chilas resident, said the protesters also took over gas stations. "Only those with chits issued by local clerics are allowed to buy gas," Khan said by telephone.

Further details weren't immediately available because of the remoteness of the region, which is dominated by ethnic Pashtuns. The Taliban are also predominantly Pashtun.

It was unclear whether the Chilas situation was directly linked to the Karakoram protests, which left businessmen and truckloads of goods – including relief supplies sent by China for Afghan refugees – stuck on the road.

But both groups in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, which is actually in the country's northeast, are taking the actions to oppose Pakistan's support of U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan. They say President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's government is betraying the nation – and Islam – by turning its back on Pakistan's neighbor.

Anti-American and anti-government sentiment has swept across Pakistan since U.S. airstrikes on suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden's installations in Afghanistan – and on Afghan cities – began Oct. 7. Though only a fraction of Pakistani's 145 million people have joined demonstrations, protests have been vehement and sometimes violent.

Hundreds of Pakistani fighters have crossed into eastern Afghanistan recently. Many more are said to be waiting in border villages, answering the call of Sufi Mohammad, an Islamic cleric.

The Taliban ambassador to Pakistan expressed appreciation Monday to Pakistanis who want to help the Islamic militia. But Abdul Salam Zaeef said the time had not yet come.

"We have to turn down their requests because the ground battles have not started," he said. "At this stage, with only air assaults in Afghanistan, there is no need and there is great danger in them being in Afghanistan."

Pakistan's government also has insisted they not cross – and has asked Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar not to accept them as fighters, Foreign Ministry spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan said.

Also Monday in Pakistan:

– Gen. Tommy Franks, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command, met with Musharraf to discuss Afghanistan. Top Pakistani military officials and the U.S. ambassador, Wendy Chamberlin, also attended.

– The U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, met Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar in Islamabad. Brahimi said he would meet in coming days with Afghan leaders whom he described as being "reachable in Pakistan."

– In the border city of Quetta, an ethnic Afghan enclave, 3,000 people demonstrated in the market district and heard religious leaders denounce America and Musharraf.

AP-WS-10-29-01 1426EST