ABSTRACT
The Shakai deal with Nek Mohammed (April 2004) The XI Corps Commander – the senior solider presiding over military operations in north-west Pakistan – changed around the time of the Kalosha operation when Aurakzai retired from the military to be replaced by Lieutenant General Safdar Hussain.1 It fell to Hussain to preside over the change in state strategy to striking deals with the militants. Hussain believed that Nek Mohammed and the tribal insurgents associated with him would only surrender to the army and that they would not negotiate with the NWFP government. Certainly, NWFP Governor Shah had few credible sticks with which to threaten. On 20 April 2004, Shah announced a 15-day deadline to Utmanzai and Ahmedzai Wazir tribesmen, as well as the Mahsud, to engage with the government on developing a workable plan to settle the issue of foreign fi ghters sheltering in the area or to face further military operations.2 Coming in the wake of the Kalosha debacle, this seemed an empty threat.
