Pakistani jet fighters and helicopter gunships pounded what the military called a terrorist training camp near the Afghan border yesterday, killing at least 50 mostly foreign militants.

Witnesses said government troops clashed with tribesmen loyal to the militants well into the afternoon following the attack near Dila Khula, 25 km (15 miles) northeast of Wana, the main town of the South Waziristan tribal region.

?We have learned that 50 people are dead, mostly foreigners,? said a military spokesman, who asked not to be named.

?Investigations are going on, and there is a possibility that the number of casualties may increase.?

When asked to comment on local reports of heavy civilian casualties, he added, ?They were all militants and if there were any locals they would have to be part of those militants.?

Villager Ajab Nur said around 40 members of Afghanistan?s ousted Taliban militia and allied Islamic militants had gathered at the time of the attack, and many of the fighters were killed in air strikes.

But according to Nur, dozens of civilians also died in a subsequent raid after they gathered to survey the damage in the area located around 50 km (30 miles) from the Afghan border.

?There was a gathering of about 40 or so militants early this morning,? said Nur. ?Two bombs fell on them. Then villagers went to see what had happened ... and there was a second attack and many people were killed.?

Residents estimated that up to 90 people had died, making it one of the bloodiest clashes in Pakistan?s lawless tribal belt since the military launched a crackdown on al Qaeda-linked militants hiding there.

About 70,000 Pakistani troops have been deployed in tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.

The army said it had knocked out a training camp used by foreign terrorists in a ?precise strike?, and the operation lasted two hours.

?There were confirmed reports of training activity being conducted by foreign elements including Uzbeks, Chechens and a few Arabs,? the military said in a statement.

?These trained terrorists were then indulging in sabotage and terrorist acts in the country, as was revealed through investigations into the recent terrorist acts,? it added.

Islamic militants are incensed at Pakistan?s decision to back the US-led war on terror, and have been blamed for two attempts to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf in December and a July suicide bomb attack on Shaukat Aziz, who is now Prime Minister.

The region of South Waziristan, 400 km (250 miles) southwest of the capital Islamabad, has been the scene of major military operations in recent months.

Officials have said hundreds of al Qaeda-linked foreign militants, including Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks, and their tribal allies, are hiding there and have used the remote region to train fighters and coordinate attacks on targets inside Pakistan.

Many of the foreign fighters have been living in tribal areas since 1989, after they helped oust the Soviets from neighbouring Afghanistan in a US-funded insurgency.

Others fled there when the US military launched its war on the Afghan Taliban in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Al Qaeda had been allowed by the Taliban to operate inside Afghanistan.

Some al Qaeda-linked suspects arrested in a recent Pakistani swoop against the international terror network had visited tribal regions in recent months.

On Wednesday, six civilians were killed in clashes between the army and militants in a bazaar in Wana. Military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said on Wednesday the army arrested 28 people after the clash in the main market of the town.

CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES

<B>Musharraf keeps khaki and grip on power</B>

President Pervez Musharraf has left Pakistanis hankering for civilian democracy in little doubt that he will keep his army uniform regardless of past promises to become a civilian ruler. Facing threats from Islamic militants furious at his support for the US war on terror and seeking to steer Pakistan to peace with India, analysts agree that like military rulers before him, Musharraf will use his uniform to keep power for years to come.

?It?s a foregone conclusion,? said Najam Sethi, editor of the ?Daily Times?, and regular critic of Musharraf?s failure to entrust his turbulent Muslim nation more to democracy.

In a televised interview on Monday, Musharraf said 96 percent of people wanted him to keep his uniform, prompting some commentators to quip that his popularity must be slipping. Musharraf scored a 97-percent approval rating in a referendum in April 2002 that secured him the presidency until 2007.

?He?s scared. He thinks he?ll lose authority,? said Shafqat Mahmood, a political analyst and former senator. ?He doesn?t want any daylight between him and the military. It signifies that the really powerful position in the country is the Chief of Army Staff.? The military has ruled Pakistan for more than half of the 57 years since it was carved out of the partition of India. Musharraf last year agreed to shed his uniform by the end of this year as part of a deal with opposition Islamist parties to back constitutional changes that gave him sweeping powers. Musharraf looks sharp in a suit and elegant in a traditional Punjabi ?shirwani? frock coat, but it is his failure to rebuild political institutions which best explains his reluctance to hang up his uniform, analysts say. ?It is because he feels insecure,? said Talat Masood, a retired general and now a columnist. The reason, Masood says, is because the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, cobbled together after Musharraf ousted its leader Nawaz Sharif, has so far failed to gel.

When Musharraf came to power at the head of a bloodless military coup five years ago, Pakistanis largely accepted his rule, although Western democracies were dubious. Then he angered Pakistan?s religious fundamentalists by siding with the United States in its war on terror following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Washington now looks on Musharraf, who has survived three assassination attempts since then, as an ally to be kept strong.

Pakistan has arrested more al Qaeda linked suspects than any other country, with 70 held in the last two months alone. A Democrat win in the November US presidential election could herald more criticism of the way Musharraf governs, but analysts say that ultimately the West cannot see another potential leader in Pakistan capable of taking on the religious fundamentalists.

And while warming relations with India have not yielded results as fast as Musharraf had hoped, few predict a deterioration in ties that could destabilise him at home. Many Pakistanis complain he has stunted democracy. But with facing so many security challenges in a country where Islamic militancy is still a potent threat, Musharraf probably feels he should rely on generals more than politicians.

Musharraf?s choice of an un-elected technocrat in Shaukat Aziz as Prime Minister in late June reflected the president?s lack of confidence in the country?s political system. ?Even to boost Shaukat Aziz, he needs his uniform,? said Masood. ?What is Shaukat Aziz?s political base? It is Musharraf. What is Musharraf?s political base? It is the military.? The Islamist opposition bloc has promised to cause trouble in Parliament if Musharraf does not step down as army chief, but Masood believes religious parties will curb their criticism in order to preserve unprecedented mainstream political influence. ?There will be some sound and fury, but that?s it,? Masood said.

<B>Simon Cameron-Moore Hafiz Wazir</B>