Borderland Where Al-qaida Has Sanctuary

Rugged, cloaked in secrecy and populated by deeply conservative tribesmen with a historical affinity for jihad, Waziristan is a wonderful hiding place - so good that US intelligence believes al-Qaida is using it to plot its next attack.

Waziristan's problems are rooted in history. For more than a century it has been ruled by the frontier crimes regulations, colonial-era laws that concentrate power in the hands of the powerful political agent - a government representative who can imprison people indefinitely and without trial and levy fines on entire villages.

Political parties are still banned although religious groups campaign through the radical mosques in every village and town.

Chronic poverty underlies the lawlessness. Across Pakistan's tribal areas 60-80% of men are unemployed, and there is one doctor for every 6,000 people, according to official figures. Just 3% of women are literate.

Due to the mountainous terrain - so cold in winter that many families migrate to lower ground - smuggling and emigrant remittances are the principal forms of income. It is also a major transit point for stolen vehicles.

Traditionally the political agents work with the maliks, local elders paid to keep their tribes in line. But in recent years they have been usurped by a potent force combining local gunslingers and foreign jihadis.

The troubles started after 9/11, when Osama bin Laden and his fighters slipped an American dragnet in Afghanistan and escaped across the border into Pakistan. Many made it to Waziristan, including hundreds of Uzbeks fighting under the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) led by the preacher Tahir Yuldashev.

Last week an IMU splinter group shot to prominence when three of its members were arrested in Germany for plotting to bomb US bases there. They allegedly trained in Waziristan.

The hornet's nest was upset by the arrival of the Pakistani army, which launched military operations at American insistence in early 2004. It has been a slow-burn disaster. Officially more than 600 soldiers have died, the real figure is probably much higher.

Those remaining appear to have lost the will to fight, reflecting the immense unpopularity of the Waziristan campaign. Yesterday militants were holding 260 soldiers they kidnapped on August 30 and snatched another 18 from a security post outside the nearby town of Bannu.

Numerous al-Qaida luminaries have passed through Waziristan in recent years including Abu Faraj al-Libbi, described as al-Qaida's number three after his arrest in 2005. But analysts say it is unlikely Bin Laden would shelter there, given the high level of surveillance.

American Predator drones have fired missiles at several al-Qaida targets in Waziristan, and CIA liaison agents are discreetly posted inside the Pakistani bases.

Yesterday the Pakistani military claimed it had killed 40 militants in a helicopter gunship attack on their hideout. Perhaps uncoincidentally, the news came as top US government officials were visiting Islamabad.

But like much in Waziristan the information could not be confirmed - foreign journalists are banned from the area while most local reporters have fled in fear.