Text 2525, 69 rader
Skriven 2006-09-05 18:47:00 av ROSS SAUER (1:123/140)
Ärende: Pakistan
================
"But...but...they are our ALLIES!"
Thanks a LOT, Coward-In-Chief for cozying up to this corrupt bunch.

Pakistan Throws in the Towel
September 05, 2006 1:04 PM

Gretchen Peters and Habibullah Khan Report:

The Pakistani military will no longer operate in the area where Osama 
bin Laden and other top al Qaeda operatives are believed to be hiding, 
according to terms of what the Pakistan government calls a "peace deal," 
signed today with militant tribal groups allied to the Taliban and al 
Qaeda.  

It is a stunning setback for U.S. efforts to root out al Qaeda and 
Taliban strongholds.

The agreement, signed in the North Waziristan district of Pakistan's 
volatile tribal belt, calls for the military to return to its barracks 
and for the insurgents to stop launching attacks on Pakistani troops. 

"The army will pull back to its camps," spokesman Major General Shaukut 
Sultan told ABC News. "They will not undertake any terrorist activity. 
There will be no parallel government, and foreigners will leave the 
area."

Extremist tribal leaders in North and South Waziristan had virtually 
taken over in recent months. They imposed Taliban-style law in their 
districts, held public executions and were openly recruiting fighters 
for 'jihad' against U.S. troops across the border in Afghanistan. 

Though the military will not release exact figures, they also killed and 
injured hundreds of Pakistani soldiers in roadside bombs and suicide 
attacks. The ongoing military operations in the tribal belt were so 
unpopular here -- many accuse President Pervez Musharraf of fighting 
America's War on Terror with Pakistani blood -- analysts say the general 
had to stop the bloodshed, even if just for the meantime. 

An earlier deal in 2003 dissolved after tribal militants failed to hold 
up their end of the bargain. Few expect this deal to hold either. 

"This is just a temporary solution," says ABC News Consultant Rahimullah 
Yusufzai. "They want to push things under the carpet for the time 
being." 

Witnesses in North Waziristan said tribal leaders hugged each other and 
fired guns to celebrate the deal, which is widely being viewed as a 
victory for their camp and a humiliating retreat for the Pakistan 
military. 

Under the agreement, the Pakistan military will stop monitoring the 
activity of the militants, who will pledge to "live like good citizens," 
General Sultan said. More than 30 militant prisoners have been released, 
and the military will pay compensation for property destroyed during the 
fighting.

Analysts here are concerned the militants will step up cross border 
activity and see no reason they will put an end to attacks on this side 
of the border either. 

"Is this the birth of Talibanistan?" asked an Islamabad diplomat. 

Copyright © 2006 ABCNews Iternet Ventures

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