 A peace deal between Pakistan and pro-Taliban militants could serve as a model for neighbouring Afghanistan where the government and foreign forces are battling a resurgent Taliban, British minister Dr Kim Howells on Saturday.
| You mean the Afghans should cede Paktika and Kunar to the Talibs and let them do as they please? |
President Pervez MusharrafÂ’s government signed the deal on Tuesday in which militants in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border agreed to stop launching attacks on Pakistani forces and over the border in Afghanistan. In exchange, militant prisoners were released, weapons were returned, and the army withdrew to barracks.
| And the Afghan army should do that, too? |
However, critics fear the treaty could create a refuge for the Taliban and al Qaeda militants.
| ... since that's what it's designed to do. |
Some analysts saw the deal as ceding control of the region to the militants.
| ... since that's what it's done. |
But British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Kim Howells said on Saturday the deal, under which tribal elders would take responsibility for security, could prove hopeful. “We’ll have to see how it turns out. It’s very much an experiment... but its got some interesting prospects,” Howells told a news conference in Islamabad.
| I heard about a fellow once who "experimented" with a nail gun. He ended up with three of them lodged in what passed for his brain. "Experimenting" when the likely results include your own departure from the gene pool isn't a recommended activity. |
Howells said the pact was not made with the Taliban but with tribal elders. According to a copy of the document obtained by Reuters, it was struck with elders as well as “local mujahideen and Taliban”.
| So Dr. Brilliance doesn't even know the terms of the treaty, but still feels entitled to an opinion... |
“One wonders if it could be applied to the other side of the Afghan border,” Howells said.
| Sure it could. And I'll bet the results would be equally disastrous. |
Howells, who also visited Afghanistan on his trip, said the Afghan government, and British forces, wanted to bring peace to Afghanistan by winning over the people. The sort of agreement reached in Pakistan could help to do that. “It’s certainly worth looking at. There has to be consent among the local population if there is to be any progress made. There can’t be only a military victory, it’s impossible,” Howells added.
| Actually, we've been relying on elections and military victory. Y'see, if you have elections without controlling the bad guyz, then the bad guyz will simply kill all the people you elected and declare themselves in charge. If you have a military victory with no elections, then you're reinventing the Congo. |
On the issue of the recent deal between the authorities and the Waziristan tribesmen, Howells said the deal was in line with traditions where the elders took responsibility of checking illegal activities. He added that the Afghan government was looking closely at the agreement and could emulate it, but added that the situations in Afghanistan and Waziristan were different.
| Afghanistan's not looking for "strategic depth" in Pakistan, for one thing... |
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