| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| Local Taliban and US set to trouble new government |
| 2008-04-01 |
| The new governments in both Islamabad and Peshawar are likely to face problems after security analysts have termed recent statements by both the United States and the Al Qaeda-backed Taliban as causes for concern. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the US’ spy network, said on Sunday that Al Qaeda was “recruiting” and “training” fighters with a Western appearance to try to bypass security checks. It also reiterated its claims that Osama Bin Laden was hiding somewhere along the Pak-Afghan border. Similarly, local Taliban commander Maulvi Faqir Muhammad said that his group would stop activities inside Pakistan, but would continue their operations against US-led forces in Afghanistan. CIA chief Michael Hayden also said that the US “has an interest in targeting the border region” between Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he claimed Al Qaeda was plotting attacks on the West. Future talks: “I think the statements of the CIA chief in Washington and of Maulvi Faqir Muhammad in Bajaur do not bode well for the future of talks between the Taliban and the new governments in Islamabad and Peshawar,” said Brig (r) Mehmood Shah, former security chief for the Tribal Areas. “The US has shown a lack of patience for negotiated settlement and also lobbed a veiled threat that it will not wait very long if militants continue to attack American interests in Afghanistan,” he added. Azmat Hayat Khan, senior researcher and head of the Area Study Centre at the University of Peshawar, said it would be hard for the government of the Awami National Party (ANP) in NWFP to accept the local Taliban’s continuance of attacks in Afghanistan even if they stopped such activities inside Pakistan. “In the first place, it will not be acceptable for (pro-Kabul) ANP to negotiate with someone who refused to abandon an armed struggle on the other side of the border,” he said. “Even if the ANP accepts the Taliban’s jihad against the US in Afghanistan, the US will not accept any such negotiated settlement,” he added. Khan said that such a situation would place any government-initiated talks “in jeopardy”. He warned that this would necessitate a return to the use of force to combat extremism. Not help: Afrasiab Khattak, ANP provincial president, said Maulvi Faqir Muhammad’s statement would “not help dialogue”. However, he said that the ANP would sit with all stakeholders to ascertain their stance before taking a final decision. Another barrier to talks between the government and the militants is the increase of airstrikes by the US in the Tribal Areas. Senior government officials, pleading anonymity, did not rule out “more such US airstrikes” in the Tribal Areas. “Before militants are involved in talks, the US may use precision-guided weapons against the same militants with whom we will soon holds talks,” they added. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 TOPIX > CIA CHIEF SAYS IRAN IN DRIVE TOWARDS NUCLEAR BOMB; + WAFF.com > WAR FOR PAKISTAN. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-04-01 03:33 |
| #1 See NEWSMAX > A LOT AT STAKE IN AFGHANISTAN; + RIAN.RU > RUSSIA - FSB CHIEF SEES [rising]THREAT FROM ISLAMIC EXTREMIST GROUPS. Shifting operations = focii to RUSSIA + URALS Region. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-04-01 00:49 |