By DPA
Islamabad : Scores of Pakistani soldiers have deserted the security forces deployed in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, mainly because they were not sure whether fighting against their “own people” was morally right, media reports said Saturday.
“I did not desert the force because I feared death, but I was not sure whether the fighting in tribal district Waziristan was Islamic or not,” a soldier from paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) told the Daily Times.
The man, who recently refused to serve in tribal areas, claimed the same question was haunting many other soldiers and the confusion was stopping them from “putting up a tough fight” against the Taliban and Al Qaeda elements in the area.
Pro-Taliban militiamen pulled out of peace treaties with the government after troops stormed the Red Mosque in the capital on July 10, and launched a series of raids on security forces.
These retaliatory attacks in the border regions have killed more than 60 troopers and 250 militants, army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.
He confirmed the desertions but insisted these should be ignored as “insignificant incidents”.
“Small-scale desertion takes place in any force and in any country for one reason or another,” Arshad told the newspaper.
However, six soldiers from only one suburb of Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province, have deserted the Frontier Corps.
The force is the first line of defence of around 90,000 troops deployed along the country’s western border against militants launching attacks at international forces in Afghanistan.