Neo-Salafis Set Up A Qaeda-Taliban State In Pakistani Tribal Area Near Afghan Border:.

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NICOSIA - The self-proclaimed "Islamic Emirate of North Waziristan" is a volatile tribal part of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan. It is run by Neo-Salafis, the most puritanical and violent strain of Sunni Islam which has emerged after World War II and to which the Taliban and al-Qaeda belong. It is locally known as Tehrik-i-Nizam-i-Mustafa movement.

In recent weeks, this region has been the scene of fierce battles between the Pakistani armed forces and a coalition of the Taliban, al-Qaeda and their supporters - the latter consisting partly of Afghan and Pakistani tribal volunteers. The Pakistani volunteers are mostly from North and South Waziristan, both remote tribal areas on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

This emirate is to be a starting point for taking the Tehrik-i-Nizam-i-Mustafa movement to other parts of Pakistan. The aim is to enforce the Prophet Muhammad's way of life, or shari'a law, on Pakistani society as well as on Afghanistan and other parts of the world.

The emirate emerged in February amid protests against the US and the regime of President Pervez Musharraf, who remains leader of the military establishment. The protests took off in the guise of rallies denouncing Danish caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

The battles between the Pakistani armed forces and the tribals in North Waziristan are unlike those of the past, which in essence were skirmishes. Now there is a mass mutiny against the pro-US government of Islamabad.

Asia Times Online (ATO) broke the story about the Islamic emirate in North Waziristan on Feb. 8, after the Taliban took control of the area. Initially, the Pakistani authorities avoided clashes and restricted themselves to the district headquarters, Miranshah.

According to ATO, there was an "unwritten accord" between the Taliban and Pakistani forces that they would not encroach on each other's areas. But an air raid on March 3, a day before the visit of US President George W Bush to Pakistan, changed everything.

Pakistani authorities claimed they had attacked a group of militants who had infiltrated North Waziristan after attacking a US base in Afghanistan. ATO said: "Local tribes maintain that the air raid killed a number of innocent men, women and children who had nothing to do with the suspect group".

In reprisal, tribal forces seized control of the district headquarters of Miranshah. Many Pakistani armed forces personnel were killed, while dozens were forced to surrender and were arrested by the Taliban. "Pakistan's ground forces could not take on the tribals", ATO added, "so more gunship helicopters were sent in, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 tribesmen on March 4", with ATO basing its information on local estimates.

And on March 5, dozens more were killed. ATO said that, despite the air cover, Pakistani ground troops were not prepared to risk advancing too far beyond their bases. ATO quoted Taliban sources as saying that, had Pakistan not begun the air raids, shari'a courts "would have been operational from this month". The Taliban had already established centres all over the tribal areas to run local affairs, including their own system of policing.