VOA标准英语2009-Pakistani Tribesmen Rise Up Against Taliban

Top Pakistani and U.S. officials have repeatedly declared there is a major change in the public mood against Taliban militants² in Pakistan. In what could be the latest evidence of that sentiment, hundreds of armed Pakistani tribesman are attacking Taliban positions in a remote area in the northwest following a suicide attack last week on a packed mosque³ that killed dozens of people, including children.
　
A paramedic moves a child injured in a June 5 suicide bombing on a packed mosque in Haya Gai, a village in Pakistan's remote, northwest Upper Dir District that killed at least 33 and wounded 40, 6 Jun 2009

In Pakistan's remote district of Upper Dir near the border with Afghanistan, the shock of the attack on the mosque during Friday prayers turned to anger a day later.

That is when at least 400 armed tribesmen formed a civilian⁴ army, commonly called a "lashkar," and started attacking Taliban militants in several villages. Reports say anywhere from seven to 13 Taliban militants were killed and several of their hideouts destroyed.

The civilian uprising in Upper Dir appears to be the latest evidence of growing anti-Taliban sentiment among the public, according to Fazal-ur-Rehman, Director of the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad.

Rehman says this is a new development among the Pakistani public, one that is linked to the month-long military offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley.

"Now with government support and the military operation (in Swat), they have seen that this is the time to get themselves organized in order to create a resistance against these Taliban," Rehman said. "What you can see now are the initial signs of this trend."

Rehman says local lashkars like the one that formed in Upper Dir have been encouraged by Pakistani officials, who have come to realize that security forces simply cannot extend their reach throughout Pakistan to stop militant¹ attacks.

"Empowering local people to create their own defense⁵ mechanism⁶ and their own defense system - this kind of local management of security affairs will be very helpful," said Rehman.

But, he warns, this type of local uprising will not last without strong backing from government officials.
　
Pakistani army soldiers take up positions in the troubled Swat Valley, file photo

Aftab Sherpao, a former interior minister and chief minister in the North West Frontier Province, says the public does not trust officials to provide security. Still, he says there are ways the government can capitalize on the growing dislike of the Taliban.

He says the government needs to make sure the Swat Valley operation, and the resulting displacement⁷ of more than two million people, is handled in a humane⁸ fashion.

"Once the operations are finished and the government has established its writ⁹, they have to take the IDP's (internally displaced people) in a very organized manner back to their homes. The reconstruction¹⁰ and rehabilitation¹¹ has to start and the police force has to be established," said Sherpao. "They can recruit the police from the IDPs living in the camps. This is the process that is being very keenly watched by the public across the country. If this goes well, that will generate a lot of good will."

The army's ability to clear Taliban militants from key areas of the Swat Valley and elsewhere in the region has been praised from Islamabad to Washington. And although the army says the battle will not be over until top Taliban leaders are captured or killed in the Swat region, Pakistani officials say they are confident the Taliban are on the defensive¹².

But the Taliban have shown they are still capable of striking the country's main cities. On Saturday evening as the lashkar in Upper Dir began to fight local Taliban, a suicide bomber¹³ penetrated¹⁴ a police compound in the capital, Islamabad, killing¹⁵ two policemen.

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

7 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

8 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

9 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

10 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

11 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

12 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

13 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

14 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

15 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。