Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday threatened to attack Taliban insurgents on Pakistani soil, saying his war-torn country had a right to do so out of "self-defence". | "Why should the Predators have all the fun" – Orrin Judd. |
The Afghan leader sent a special warning to fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar and top Pakistan Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud, whom Islamabad believes is responsible for the December assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto. "Baitullah Mehsud should know that we will go after him now and hit him in his house," said Karzai. Mehsud has vowed to continue "jihad" (holy war) in Afghanistan while pursuing peace negotiations with the new government in Islamabad -- an initiative that has sparking growing unease in Washington and Kabul.
In talks with Karzai earlier this month in Kabul, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi insisted that Islamabad was not negotiating with "terrorists" but rather "peace-loving" elements that want regional stability. Pakistan has already signed a peace deal with pro-Taliban militants in the Swat Valley, about 99 kilometres (55 miles) from Afghanistan. That has seen soldiers leave the area and the rebels implementing Islamic Sharia law.