http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7232203.stm
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan_govt_to_hold_talks_with_Taliban/articleshow/2765691.cms
Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan, a militant umbrella group, has declared a unilateral truce in the South Waziristan region and is willing to enter peace talks. The group's leader, Baitullah Mehsud, the key suspect in the murder of former premier Benazir Bhutto, ordered an indefinite truce in the region. Pakistan Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said the national leadership was ready for a dialogue with the militants. Unofficial talks between the two sides are already underway, with local clerics acting as mediators. Fighting in North and South Waziristan has stopped completely.It could be because of recent heavy snowfall or because of the ceasefire.
Militant spokesman Mullah Mohammed Umar said the truce would include the tribal belt along the Afghan border and the restive Swat region to the east, where the army has recently been fighting pro-Taleban fighters. The region is a confirmed safe haven for Taleban and al-Qaida. He said the ceasefire was announced because the government has abandoned positions in the area and pulled back to their camps - a key militant demand. Sirajuddin Haqqani, a senior Taleban commander from south-eastern Afghanistan who negotiated a peace deal in February 2005 between Mr Mehsud and the military, is likely to be the militants’ choice to take part in the talks.
The development portends trouble for NATO and is not likely to be welcomed by the US and its allies, who have strongly criticised earlier ceasefires in the Waziristan area, the most recent of which ended last year. Such ceasefires/ deals/ agreements/ between Pakistan and Taleban always ease the pressure on the terrorists and leaves them free to concentrate on a single front facing NATO forces. Naturally, the result is a rise in NATO casualties.
It is interesting to note that according to the Pakistani establishment the problem of militancy in Pakistan is closely linked to events in Afghanistan. It is not too difficult to guess why the Pakistani establishment will not authorise the complete destruction of pro-Taleban insurgents until the problem in Afghanistan has also been brought under control. That the roots of the problem extend to Pakistan forces’ Operation Silence in Islamabad in Jul 2007 against Jaish-e-Mohammed militants holed up in ‘Red Mosque’ and the continuation of direct financial and military aid that the country gets from the US has been ignored or conveniently forgotten.
The possible agreement between Pakistan and the militants is a sure sign of immense pressure on Taleban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and is another attempt to gain time for regrouping and limiting their operations against the NATO and US infidels in Afghanistan. The coming days are likely to see stepped up Al Qaeda and Taleban attacks against the coalition troops in Afghanistan. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's warning that failure of NATO's mission in Afghanistan could result in terror attacks in Western countries is ominous. This is the right time and opportunity for NATO members to sort out their differences, and soon.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan_govt_to_hold_talks_with_Taliban/articleshow/2765691.cms
Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan, a militant umbrella group, has declared a unilateral truce in the South Waziristan region and is willing to enter peace talks. The group's leader, Baitullah Mehsud, the key suspect in the murder of former premier Benazir Bhutto, ordered an indefinite truce in the region. Pakistan Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said the national leadership was ready for a dialogue with the militants. Unofficial talks between the two sides are already underway, with local clerics acting as mediators. Fighting in North and South Waziristan has stopped completely.It could be because of recent heavy snowfall or because of the ceasefire.
Militant spokesman Mullah Mohammed Umar said the truce would include the tribal belt along the Afghan border and the restive Swat region to the east, where the army has recently been fighting pro-Taleban fighters. The region is a confirmed safe haven for Taleban and al-Qaida. He said the ceasefire was announced because the government has abandoned positions in the area and pulled back to their camps - a key militant demand. Sirajuddin Haqqani, a senior Taleban commander from south-eastern Afghanistan who negotiated a peace deal in February 2005 between Mr Mehsud and the military, is likely to be the militants’ choice to take part in the talks.
The development portends trouble for NATO and is not likely to be welcomed by the US and its allies, who have strongly criticised earlier ceasefires in the Waziristan area, the most recent of which ended last year. Such ceasefires/ deals/ agreements/ between Pakistan and Taleban always ease the pressure on the terrorists and leaves them free to concentrate on a single front facing NATO forces. Naturally, the result is a rise in NATO casualties.
It is interesting to note that according to the Pakistani establishment the problem of militancy in Pakistan is closely linked to events in Afghanistan. It is not too difficult to guess why the Pakistani establishment will not authorise the complete destruction of pro-Taleban insurgents until the problem in Afghanistan has also been brought under control. That the roots of the problem extend to Pakistan forces’ Operation Silence in Islamabad in Jul 2007 against Jaish-e-Mohammed militants holed up in ‘Red Mosque’ and the continuation of direct financial and military aid that the country gets from the US has been ignored or conveniently forgotten.
The possible agreement between Pakistan and the militants is a sure sign of immense pressure on Taleban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and is another attempt to gain time for regrouping and limiting their operations against the NATO and US infidels in Afghanistan. The coming days are likely to see stepped up Al Qaeda and Taleban attacks against the coalition troops in Afghanistan. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's warning that failure of NATO's mission in Afghanistan could result in terror attacks in Western countries is ominous. This is the right time and opportunity for NATO members to sort out their differences, and soon.
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