Chemical Weapons

[Truth Seeker]

Is the Pakistan Army Using Chemical Weapons in Wana Operation

 

By M A Siddiqui

 

KARACHI, Sept 26: Refugees fleeing the Wana Waziristan war theater, being bombed by the Pakistan Army, have reported mysterious deaths of their friends and family members --- deaths which they say cannot occur unless a poisonous gas or a bio-weapon was used on a large scale.

 

Almost 15 to 20 families of various clans of Mahsud Tribes are migrating to Karachi from the war zone every day while innocent Waziri Tribesmen and their families are settling down in Southern Punjab.

 

Interviews with these displaced families at Sohrab Goth in Karachi, the last stop of the inter-city buses, have revealed a horrible side of the Pakistan Army operation, kept closed to the media and everybody else for weeks.

 

"After bombing by the Army on Ladha, several local civilians were killed and many more were injured," Gulrez Mahsud, a young tribesman from South Waziristan told this scribe.

“Most of those dead were not hit by any bullet or shell, They were gassed in their homes and other safe places where they thought they would survive the bombing.â€

 

A bus driver told this correspondent he dropped five wounded persons in Dera Ghazi Khan for medical treatment. Their mouths and noses were affected by gases while burning in lungs and chest was also reported. And the driver did not know how they would get medical aid without any money.

 

The refugees have sorry tales to tell as they say the death toll of civilians has multiplied since no medical help was available in places where bombing was taking place. All hospitals, schools, shops, markets, transports have been closed by the Army in the area under siege.

 

“Majority of the wounded persons are on their deathbeds in the absence of medical aid,†the refugees say.

 

Another horrible facet of the operation is looting by Army troops in the area. "They are taking away all our valuables during search operations. They do not even spare blankets, cots and mattresses", a refugee, Rafiq Mahsud, said.

 

"Taking away of our cattle and livestock without any payment is a routine affair," he said.

 

“We have been living with Frontier Constabulary for the last 54 years and never faced a situation like this. Now, it appears as if we are under siege of the hostile Northern Alliance of Afghanistan,†Dawood Khan, another Mahsud tribesman, bitterly complained.

In the absence of transport, these refugees had to travel on foot for 24 to 30 hours to reach Jandola, the nearest point from where they could catch a bus for other areas of Pakistan.

 

I saw an old woman who could not walk due to weakness and old age while infants were crying for milk and food when their buses reached Sohrab Goth.

 

They reached Karachi after driving through the entire length of Pakistan, traveling for 40 to 50 hours. Some of them were received by their relatives in Karachi.

 

As members of the Mahsud Tribes are better educated than others, they are moving to Karachi where they have relatives and friends. The mostly unskilled Waziri tribesmen are facing more hardships.

 

Majority of the Wazirs have shifted to the areas of Southern Punjab like Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah and Bhakkar where they are living in open spaces.

 

Neither the government agencies nor any non-governmental organization is providing food and other basic necessities to these peoples who have been forced to leave their homes, the refugees say.

 

According to Roedad Khan, a local leader of Mahsud Tribe in Karachi, more than 700 families have shifted to Karachi. They are living with their relatives already settled in this industrial city.

 

But they say migration to Karachi is on a very small scale. Majority of the tribesmen have moved in open areas on the mountains to look for safety and refuge. The weather is now changing and with the onset of winter, greater hardships are awaiting them.

 

"We cannot understand why our own Army is destroying us. Is it the same Army which was supposed to protect us or are they our enemies, the refugees wonder.

 

“The army is bombing our homes and fields without any warning. This has resulted in heavy casualties, including women and children."