Monday, September 25, 2006javascript:; http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp?page=2006\09\25\story_25-9-2006_pg1_1
Did Musharraf ââ¬Ëcave inââ¬â¢ to Taliban?:
Waziristan deal with
Mulla Omar
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: The fugitive Taliban commander Mulla Omar has emerged as the key player behind the movementââ¬â¢s controversial peace deal with Pakistan, British newspaper The Telegraph reported on Sunday.
The Talibanââ¬â¢s one-eyed spiritual leader, who has a $10 million price on his head for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks, signed a letter explicitly endorsing the truce announced this month. The deal between the Pakistani authorities and pro-Taliban militants in the tribal provinces bordering Afghanistan was designed to end five years of bloodshed in the area.
In return for an end to the US-backed government campaign in Waziristan, the tribal leaders agreed to halt attacks on Pakistani troops, more than 500 of whom have been killed. The deal has been widely criticised as over-generous, with no way to enforce the Talibanââ¬â¢s promise not to enter Afghanistan to attack coalition troops.
According to The Telegraph, the disclosure that Mulla Omar personally backed the deal will come as a fresh embarrassment to President Pervez Musharraf. While officially a US ally in the war on terror, Pakistan has been repeatedly accused by Afghanistan of not doing enough to clear Taliban militants out of its border regions, allegations it denies. However, Mulla Omar clearly felt that the deal benefited the Taliban, adding force to criticisms that it was in effect a cave-in. Tribal elders in south Waziristan said that Mulla Omar had sent one of his most trusted and feared commanders, Mulla Dadullah, to ask local militants to sign the truce. Dadullah, a one-legged fighter known for his fondness for beheading his enemies, is believed to be the man leading the campaign in southern Afghanistan in which 18 British troops have been killed. ââ¬ÅHad they been not asked by Mulla Omar, none of them were willing to sign an agreement,ââ¬Â said Lateef Afridi, a tribal elder and former national assembly member. ââ¬ÅThis is no peace agreement, it is accepting Taliban rule in Pakistanââ¬â¢s territory.ââ¬Â
In return for a reduction in the armyââ¬â¢s 80,000-strong presence and the release of about 165 hardcore militants arrested for attacks on the armed forces, local Taliban agreed to stop supporting the foreign militants in their midst, and promised not to set up their own fundamentalist administrations. The government also agreed to compensate tribal leaders for the loss of life and property, and to return all weapons and vehicles seized during army operations. Critics say the deal is a dangerous climb-down by Gen Musharraf, who is under huge pressure from religious conservatives in his own country to curb his US-backed fight against militant Islam.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\09\25\story_25-9-2006_pg1_1
Did Musharraf ââ¬Ëcave inââ¬â¢ to Taliban?:
Waziristan deal with
Mulla Omar
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: The fugitive Taliban commander Mulla Omar has emerged as the key player behind the movementââ¬â¢s controversial peace deal with Pakistan, British newspaper The Telegraph reported on Sunday.
The Talibanââ¬â¢s one-eyed spiritual leader, who has a $10 million price on his head for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks, signed a letter explicitly endorsing the truce announced this month. The deal between the Pakistani authorities and pro-Taliban militants in the tribal provinces bordering Afghanistan was designed to end five years of bloodshed in the area.
In return for an end to the US-backed government campaign in Waziristan, the tribal leaders agreed to halt attacks on Pakistani troops, more than 500 of whom have been killed. The deal has been widely criticised as over-generous, with no way to enforce the Talibanââ¬â¢s promise not to enter Afghanistan to attack coalition troops.
According to The Telegraph, the disclosure that Mulla Omar personally backed the deal will come as a fresh embarrassment to President Pervez Musharraf. While officially a US ally in the war on terror, Pakistan has been repeatedly accused by Afghanistan of not doing enough to clear Taliban militants out of its border regions, allegations it denies. However, Mulla Omar clearly felt that the deal benefited the Taliban, adding force to criticisms that it was in effect a cave-in. Tribal elders in south Waziristan said that Mulla Omar had sent one of his most trusted and feared commanders, Mulla Dadullah, to ask local militants to sign the truce. Dadullah, a one-legged fighter known for his fondness for beheading his enemies, is believed to be the man leading the campaign in southern Afghanistan in which 18 British troops have been killed. ââ¬ÅHad they been not asked by Mulla Omar, none of them were willing to sign an agreement,ââ¬Â said Lateef Afridi, a tribal elder and former national assembly member. ââ¬ÅThis is no peace agreement, it is accepting Taliban rule in Pakistanââ¬â¢s territory.ââ¬Â
In return for a reduction in the armyââ¬â¢s 80,000-strong presence and the release of about 165 hardcore militants arrested for attacks on the armed forces, local Taliban agreed to stop supporting the foreign militants in their midst, and promised not to set up their own fundamentalist administrations. The government also agreed to compensate tribal leaders for the loss of life and property, and to return all weapons and vehicles seized during army operations. Critics say the deal is a dangerous climb-down by Gen Musharraf, who is under huge pressure from religious conservatives in his own country to curb his US-backed fight against militant Islam.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\09\25\story_25-9-2006_pg1_1
