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| India-Pakistan | |
| Taliban making inroads in Punjab? | |
| 2009-04-15 | |
The Taliban are teaming up with local militant groups to make inroads in the Punjab, a New York Times report has claimed.
"I don't think a lot of people understand the gravity of the issue," said a senior Punjab police official. "If you want to destabilise Pakistan, you have to destabilise the Punjab." An NYT reporter claimed seeing abundant signs of creeping militancy in towns and villages around Dera Ghazi Khan. Some villages, the report said, were so deeply infiltrated by militants that they were already considered no-go zones. In at least five towns in southern Punjab, including Multan, barbershops, music stores and Internet cafes reported threats from Taliban. "It's going from bad to worse," said a senior police official in DG Khan. "They are now more active. These are the facts." Tactical alliance: At least 20 Taliban killed in American strikes in the Tribal Areas since last summer were Punjabis, according to officials. One Pakistani security official estimated that five to 10 percent of the militants in FATA could be Punjabi. "These are tactical alliances," said a senior American official. The Pashtun Taliban and Arab militants, who are part of Al Qaeda, have money, sanctuary, training sites and suicide bombers. The Punjabi militants can provide logistic support in cities like Lahore. The situation is still far from that in the Swat Valley but there are strong parallels. The Taliban here exploit many of the same weaknesses that allowed them to expand in other areas: an absent or intimidated police force; a lack of attention from national and provincial leaders; and a population steadily cowed by threats, or won over by hard-line mullahs. In Shadan Lund, just north of DG Khan, militants are openly demanding shariah. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif told the NYT reporter he was painfully aware of the need to restore people's faith in government. "Hearts and minds must be won," he said. "If this struggle fails, this country has no future." | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Just one more piece of evidence that the very existance of a place called "Pakistan" needs to end. Take out the nukes first, then just start carpet bombing. The few survivors can be incorporated into either India or Afghanistan. If possible, capture some of the "leaders" of the ISI, and use whatever means necessary to find out ALL the skullduggery they've been involved with over the last couple of decades. It'll make some very interesting reading, I'm sure. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-04-15 14:58 |