Pak pamphlets link militants to Hindus

Pakistan’s military airdropped pamphlets this week over towns in restive tribal regions near the Afghan border urging tribesmen to shun “foreign terrorists”, saying they were part of a Hindu and Jewish plot.

The pamphlets were dropped over Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, and Miranshah in North Waziristan as part of a campaign to win support among tribesmen who have shown sympathy for both Taliban and remnants of al Qaeda living among them.

A Reuters reporter in Tank, a town close to the boundary with the semi-autonomous tribal agency of South Waziristan, obtained one of the pamphlets, bearing the sign-off “Well Wishers, Pakistan’s Armed Forces”.

Titled “Warning”, the pamphlets said the foreign militants were fighting against Pakistan in connivance with “Jews and Hindus”, a term that would play on traditional prejudices among the region’s Muslim conservatives.