Pakistan signs peace pact with militants in Swat

[Neo]

Pakistan signs peace pact with militants in Swat ​

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's government promised to "gradually" pull out troops from the northwestern valley of Swat after signing a peace agreement with Taliban militants on Wednesday.

The deal was done a day after the United States advised its ally against negotiating with militants, saying it could give them breathing space to plot attacks in Pakistan and abroad.

Authorities in North West Frontier Province also agreed to enforce sharia, Islamic law, in Swat in return for assurances that militants led by charismatic cleric Fazlullah will cease attacks, allow girls to go to school and stop carrying weapons in public.

"We hope this agreement will help bring peace in Swat," Bashir Ahmed Bilour, senior provincial minister, told reporters after signing the 15-point pact.

Ali Bakhsh, the militants' representative in the talks, said he was fully satisfied with the agreement.

Pakistan has cut peace deals in the past but critics, including western allies, have complained that these resulted in militants regrouping and intensifying cross-border attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Speaking at a congressional hearing, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte voiced the U.S. government's misgivings.

"Are we concerned about the possibility of negotiations between the government or elements of the government and these extremist groups up there ... yes," he said on Tuesday.

"I hope that they proceed cautiously and not accept an outcome that would give extremist elements the right, or the ability, to use the FATA area with impunity to carry out attacks on Pakistan, and carry out attacks on Afghanistan or the United States or the rest of the world," he said, referring to Pakistani tribal areas, commonly known as Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

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Swat, which is tribal, though not a part of FATA, had been the main tourist destination in NWFP until last year, when the militants launched a violent campaign to enforce Taliban-style law in the region.

Hundreds of people have been killed in fighting between the security forces and the militants, many of whom are veterans of the war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Fazlullah had set up illegal FM radio stations in the region to propagate his teachings.

Bilour said militants had agreed that they would not run these radio stations without permission from authorities.

The government also agreed to review the criminal cases filed against Fazlullah and other militants, he added.

Fazlullah is an ally of Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban and a cohort of al Qaeda.

Pakistani authorities are separately negotiating with Mehsud through tribal elders to strike a peace deal with him.

Mehsud is blamed for a campaign of suicide attacks across Pakistan since mid-2007, including the one that killed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December.

Mehsud has denied his involvement in Bhutto's assassination and attacks haven fallen off since a new coalition led by Bhutto's party, which assumed power last month, vowed to open talks with militants to end violence.

Pakistan signs peace pact with militants in Swat - Yahoo! News

 

[asaad-ul-islam]

why we negotiated with these low life suckerz in the first place, is beyond me. we could have easily wiped the floor with these loosers, numerically they hardly pose a threat.

Will Fata’s truce succeed?

By Zeenia Satti

ISLAMABAD’S well-intentioned truce with the militants in the NWFP and Fata is headed for an inevitable crash. Prime Minister Syed Raza Gilani’s assertion that, unlike the past, the current truce would hold because it is carried out by an elected government is a shallow, state-centric approach to a complex problem with interstate dimensions.

The problem of militancy in the NWFP is not of Pakistan’s own making. Therefore, Pakistan does not have the strategic capacity to curb it unilaterally. It is a direct consequence of General Tommy Franks and Rumsfeld’s strategic vision called Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). After 9/11, when the Pentagon was devising its strategy for OEF, which was ostensibly based on an examination of the enemy’s current situation and the history of military operations in Afghanistan, its generals were clearly aware of the fact that Fata and adjacent areas in Pakistan could harbour an enduring insurgency against Kabul.

An elaborately planned infrastructure was laid for the purpose from 1979-89 in Pakistan’s areas bordering Afghanistan with the collaboration of the Central Intelligence Agency which had provided sanctuary to the Afghan insurgents against the Soviets. Later, it functioned as an organisational base for the Taliban.

Many families in Fata have their members in the Afghan Taliban party. The intent of the OEF mission was to decimate the Al Qaeda as well as the Taliban, instead of overthrowing the latter. That is why hundreds of Taliban were massacred while in custody as prisoners of war after they surrendered to the Northern Alliance and General Franks’ forces in Nov 2001.

A commander’s job is to assess his enemies’ strength and weakness at both political (strategic) and military (tactical) levels and devise his plan accordingly. Given the cross-border strategic assets of the Pakhtun Taliban, General Franks should have demanded that Pakistan seal its border with Afghanistan prior to the launching of OEF and should have helped the Pakistan Army monitor the border with the help of the latest technology in addition to traditional check posts.

The argument that the border cannot be sealed because of the terrain is untenable. Present-day technology allows the fencing of the mountainous Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Given what 9/11 portends for the US, allocating a budget for UAV monitoring of the sealed border was a strategic necessity. History will debate as to why General Franks and Rumsfeld did not devise a Pakistan-Afghanistan border control strategy prior to commencing OEF.

As a direct consequence of this oversight, instead of decimating terrorism in Afghanistan, an expanded regional version of it has been created and Pakistan has been engulfed in it. We now have the following situation. Having pushed the Taliban into Pakistan instead of destroying them, the US does not want to negotiate peace with them. Washington is relying on the Pakistan military to serve Pentagon as its regional extension and decimate the Taliban for it. Given the support structure that has traditionally operated for the Taliban in Fata and the NWFP, Pakistan’s war on the Afghan Taliban has zero local support within the NWFP. America’s bad publicity in Iraq has turned this lack of support into violent hostility over time.

Because the Pakistan military itself propelled the Taliban in Kabul, its soldiers are psychologically reluctant to engage in mass killing of the latter. The last time the soldiers’ reluctance based upon cultural norms was pushed to the wall by a foreign force in the region was in Meerut in 1856-57. It became the genesis of a widespread mutiny in the Indian army against the British East India Company in 1857, ending its direct rule.

The Al Qaeda, we are told, is in Fata. Although this claim was denied by Musharraf prior to the February election and has no other source as its origin than the US military intelligence, Fata’s socio-political environment renders this assertion plausible. US refusal to negotiate with even the anti-Al Qaeda Taliban has fostered a strategic alliance between the Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Given this ground reality, Pakistan’s peace deal with the Fata militants and the latter’s pledge to expel foreign militants is toothless because the control of the entire gamut of violence lies with the US that is convinced that the fountainhead of the Afghan insurgency and international terrorism is inside Fata. The US cannot comb Fata in a house-to-house search to satisfy itself of the veracity of Fata militants’ pledge to Islamabad.

Due to force protection considerations, the US and Nato have preferred aerial bombardment to engagement at ground troop level which is a requirement for combating insurgencies. This is the reason they are producing a high rate of civilian casualties and losing the battles in Afghanistan. This is also the reason they are increasingly looking to the Pakistan Army to do their work for them.

Because the Afghan insurgency is decentralised, the US has no high-profile target for bombing. If Islamabad withdraws forces from Fata without including the US in the peace plan, Fata becomes America’s target serving a dual purpose; a showing for the new commander General Petraeus and a boost for the John McCain election campaign. Unless engaged in a peace-making process right now, General Petraeus would be driven to extensive bombardment of Fata. Should he do so, the peace deal will blow up in Gilani’s face, making his government look too effete to walk the talk once again, after it met a similar fate in the matter of restoration of law in the country.

Therefore, it is vital that the matter of peace be handled with the involvement of the US. Seizing the opportunity provided by Nato’s strategic vision statement of April 3 in Bucharest which prioritised political measures for Afghanistan, Islamabad should launch a diplomatic campaign in all 40 ISAF states, seeking multilateral commitment to its peace plan. The plan should involve General Dan McNeil, General Petraeus and Hamid Karzai, in addition to the Taliban and Fata militants.

Taliban who are not allied with the Al Qaeda are no threat to the US or Europe. Taliban’s political ideology is the mirror image of the ideology of the House of Saud, Washington’s long-standing ally. The main goal of collaboration for peace should be the capturing of the Al Qaeda leadership. Pakistan should seek a multilateral politico-military effort for this objective. Due to the upcoming US and Afghan elections, a change of US military command and European weariness with the Afghan war, the international environment for seeking such cooperation is propitious.

The writer is an independent consultant and analyst of energy geopolitics based in Washington DC

zeenia.satti@yahoo.com

DAWN - Opinion; May 21, 2008

 

[UnitedPak]

It wouldnt bother me if they actually respected these peace pacts. Its usually a matter of days before another bomb blast.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

PESHAWAR: NWFP government and local Taliban have agreed to a peace agreement under which “Shariah” laws will be promulgated in Sawat and Malakand districts and security forces will be withdrawn, while the Taliban have agreed to acknowledge the writ of the government.

Senior Minister of NWFP Bashir Ahmad Bilour said government and local Taliban have agreed on 15 points. Under the agreement, there would be a ban on display of weapons and training camps of militants would be eliminated.

Talking to media, Bilour said Imam Dherai would be turned into an Islamic university and local Taliban would fully corporate with government. Responding to a question, he said there would be a gradual withdrawal of security forces and Islamic laws would be enforced in Sawat and Malakand. He said government would facilitate drive against contagious diseases and private militias would not be tolerated.

He said Taliban would not attack Music and Barber shops and only licensed FM radio stations would be allowed to operate. Senior Minister said Taliban would denounce suicide attacks.

Local Taliban leader expressed satisfaction over the agreement.
NWFP government, local Taliban ratify peace truce

If the following points are correct, and the militants adhere to them, it is indeed a positive development:

1. "militants led by charismatic cleric Fazlullah will cease attacks, allow girls to go to school and stop carrying weapons in public".

2. "Under the agreement, there would be a ban on display of weapons and training camps of militants would be eliminated."

3. "Imam Dherai would be turned into an Islamic university and local Taliban would fully corporate with government." (lets hope this is a true University, and not just a Super Sized Madrassa)

4. "Taliban would not attack Music and Barber shops and only licensed FM radio stations would be allowed to operate. Senior Minister said Taliban would denounce suicide attacks."

5. "He said government would facilitate drive against contagious diseases and private militias would not be tolerated." (recall that the GoP drive against Polio, and Mullah FM's assertion that it was Jewish/American conspiracy to "sterilize" Muslims was what brought him into the limelight and set the stage for continued confrontations.)

Conspicuous by their absence are the initial Taliban demands that they be allowed to move around with their weapons, and their activities in the rest of Pakistan not be stopped, and that the military be withdrawn immediately from FATA and Swat (a demand attached by the TTP led by B Mehsud).

Waiting for more details on all 15 points agreed upon, and official confirmation (by GoP and Taliban) - fingers crossed!

P.S: It will also be interesting to see the TTP's reaction to this, since it has attempted to present a "United Front" for all Taliban forces, and negotiate collectively. I would say that more bombings and attacks courtesy of the TTP, if this accord does hold, are on the way.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

IIRC, the negotiations are being held on two tracks.

1. The NWFP government (ANP) is negotiating with the Swat militants, and this accord is with them.

2. The negotiations with the Taliban in FATA (the TTP led by B Mehsud) are being held through the Federal Government. And it is those negotiations that are the trickiest, and the US has the most concern with, given the past violations by the Militants.

On the second count, the recent statements by PM Gillani, Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik, and Zardari, on not making peace with anyone who does not "disarm" do give cause for hope, though they could be for public consumption.

 

[asaad-ul-islam]

it's not like we have a choice anymore. our intelligence gathering capabilities need to be refined if we want to bring an end to the bombings. i'm sure these groups were infiltrated by another agency and are being used to destabilize pakistan.

we need to do the same, infiltrate these groups. at the same time promote propaganda causing FATA and NWFP to resent these groups.

every militia needs to be under the direct control of the military, just like when the taliban took over kabul. if the military does not put a leash on these groups they will run wild.

of course, I wouldn't go as far as wiping them out and modernising the area. some of these groups are simply too large and would give the army and govt. an anti-islamic image. jihad will always be in pakistan whether it's in AQ, taliban, or even the army.

the best thing to do is to control it and make peace within our territory. slowly infiltrate these groups and get them to change their stance. pakistan army can always find good use in these groups like it did in kargil or soviet afghanistan.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Negotiating in Swat was simpler in a sense, since the stated goal of Mullah FM was to impose Shariah, and now that the GoP has agreed, and has a "Shariah bill" in waiting, Mullah FM and his militants will not be able to win the sympathy of the people by perpetuating armed conflict.

FATA is harder, since the TTP is playing multiple cards - Pashtun Nationalism, imposition of Shariah, fighting the occupation of Afghanistan (which ties in the above two), maintaining Tribal autonomy and Tribal customs (this is a lie, since the imposition of the Taliban "Islamic System" would destroy most of the traditional Tribal systems and customs).

 

[vish]

The words that worry me the most are "Sharia law." I just hope this snowball doesn't turn into an avalanche. Further, it remains to be seen whether the commitments will actually be honored. I just hope there is a contingency plan in place. The Americans are not saying "much" because the fundamentalists covered by this peace accord are not involved in attacks in Afghanistan.

It won't be this easy with the TTP.

In the end though, don't forget, these guys are terrorists.

 

[batmannow]

ANY way, thats good to see these kind of agreements but, it will be more good that if, these accords can achive the peace and brotherhood.

today, what PAKISTAN REALLY, needs is UNITY? if any how , any way govt of pakistan... can get back, its lost trust in the TRIBAL region! surly it will bring more peace and unity in the WARZONE OF PAKISTAN.
it will be rubbish, to think that.. pak army should be used to crackdown on these ISLAM LOVING, tribal majorty, if some large group of people of pakistan wanted islam as thier way of life , they should be allowed to paractice thier religion and its cultural values, without any voilence, and trouble making.
anyway, they are pakistanis and one should respect, thier opinions and thier will, as they were the NATURAL DEFENCE LINE for pakistan and this should not be wise to kick them out of ground, just because of SOME BIG SUPER POWER DOESNT LIKE THAT! OR DOESNT APPROVE IT...?

I GUSS, its the right time to tell our... big bro, that peace in afghnistan isnt... important for pakistan as pakistan.. is on the werge to lose its own tribal belt & its the time that big bro should also try to do same to make peace within... afghanistan & SHOULD ALLOW THE PEOPLE ,, WHO ARE READY TO LAY DOWN THEIR WEAPONS FOR THE RESTORATION OF THE ISLAMIC SHARIAH, AND WHO ALSO WANTS TO LIVE THEIR LIVES IN PEACE.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

ANY way, thats good to see these kind of agreements but, it will be more good that if, these accords can achive the peace and brotherhood.

today, what PAKISTAN REALLY, needs is UNITY? if any how , any way govt of pakistan... can get back, its lost trust in the TRIBAL region! surly it will bring more peace and unity in the WARZONE OF PAKISTAN.
it will be rubbish, to think that.. pak army should be used to crackdown on these ISLAM LOVING, tribal majorty, if some large group of people of pakistan wanted islam as thier way of life , they should be allowed to paractice thier religion and its cultural values, without any voilence, and trouble making.
anyway, they are pakistanis and one should respect, thier opinions and thier will, as they were the NATURAL DEFENCE LINE for pakistan and this should not be wise to kick them out of ground, just because of SOME BIG SUPER POWER DOESNT LIKE THAT! OR DOESNT APPROVE IT....?

Peace and "unity" cannot be had with groups who indoctrinate children to blow themselves up.

The TTP is beyond redemption, like Al Qaeda. The only negotiations that will succeed will be with groups that lay down their weapons, and the non Taliban Tribals.

The Taliban themselves are not "Islam Loving". Which Islam tells people to commit suicide bombings and force others to follow their interpretation of Islam?

Check the atrocities they committed at this link:

http://www.defence.pk/forums/strategic-geopolitical-issues/11566-horrors-taliban.html

 

[sohailbutt]

some senators in US congress r not happy with GoP on the deal which they did today with Militants, we want to live in peace so we will always do these agreements with people who will give up arms n who also want to live in peace why the US has problem with this, this is our mother land we decide wut we do here not US, i think when Barak Obama comes in first he will stop all military hardware for Pakistan, it really seems to me that this is goin to happen!!!

I DONT REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT WHY CANT US GOVERNMENT TRY TO NEGOTIATE WITH WHAT IT CALLS TERRORISTS N LET THEM LIVE IN PEACE N US ALSO LIVE IN PEACE!!!

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

The US govt knows that peace negotiated is peace broken whenever the terrorists so want.

Happening world wide!

 

[sohailbutt]

The US govt knows that peace negotiated is peace broken whenever the terrorists so want.

Happening world wide!

well regardin US govt, it is the most evil in the world, it supplied the latest arms to the so called terrorists in US eyes to break up USSR in the 80's, then when the job was done it wanted to eliminate them, very clever!!!

US has always fought some body in any decade that u pick up either directly or indirectly, 80's it fought with Russia indirectly by suplyin arms to Bin laden, then in 40's it fought Adolf Hitler, 90's it fought Gulf War, 2000-2010 it is fighting 2 wars, not over n will never be over inshallah, war with Bin Laden, n war in Iraq against Sadam n his so called WMD, there r many wars that US fought in the last 100 years, infact each war was started by US at the first place, who knows it will even fight Iran, on command of their Jewish masters in the next decade, wut r F-22's for n all that modern war equipment.

sir, please ur enemey is not always ur enemy, try to think on those lines, terrorists r not fightin without a reason, there is always a reason behind a fight, no body fights without a reason, i think US just cant help it, they love to fight.

think why Iraqi's fight, US invaded their Country, the reason for invasion was WMD, question is WHERE R WMD????

War with Bin Laden, 7 years on did this super power win, NO!!! wut is the reason to fight with them, accordin to Bush propoganda they destroyed WTC n attacked pentagon, if u see pentagon attack aftermath there was just a big hole in pentagon wall, no wings of the plane, no tail of the plane, no engines some of the parts r made of titanium, they weren't found, that was clearly a missile attack on pentagon by its own Government, then comes WTC, these buildings were very old they could not be brought down by any kind of implosion so the only way scientificaly was to hit it with something big like planes, then detonate the C4 attached to every pillar of the building which is the perfect reciepe to bring down a building like WTC down safely. This explanation can also be justified with the fact that more than 2000 Jews that worked in those towers werenot present in those building when the planes struck, question is WHERE WERE THE JEWS????

Salim im not finished with WTC, US is a superpower everyone knows that, when the first plane struck where were US radars why didnot they inform the Airforce to bring down these planes because they have deflected from their flightpaths??? anyway one more question when the first plane struck why weren't US fighters up in the air, to defend further attacks???? All attacks happened n still no sign of fighter planes in the skies, thus it can be concluded that the attacks on WTC n Pentagon were pre planned by US itself n the blame shifted on Bin laden to ignite the fire of war. This was also the case in the Gulf war US allowed Israeli fighters to sink a US ship i dont know the name but anyone else can please tell the name of the ship which ISraeli fighters sank, the captain of the ship called out for help from a nearby carrier strike group but they were commanded not to help by the white house, because they wanted to make this propoganda to start a war against Egypt n all other Arab nations, which they were successful at doin!!!

So, my friend Salim, question is the terrorists that u call terrorists in my eyes r just normal people fightin for a cause, n the REAL TERRORIST IS US GOVERNMENT ITSELF!!! not the US people, they have nothin to do with this, they r innocent people mislead by their own Government.

 

[UnitedPak]

The words that worry me the most are "Sharia law." I just hope this snowball doesn't turn into an avalanche. Further, it remains to be seen whether the commitments will actually be honored. I just hope there is a contingency plan in place. The Americans are not saying "much" because the fundamentalists covered by this peace accord are not involved in attacks in Afghanistan.

It won't be this easy with the TTP.

In the end though, don't forget, these guys are terrorists.

What exactly do you know about the Sharia law since its causing sleepless nights for you? And please also explain how Sharia law affects your life in particular.

 

[blain2]

US objects to talks for peace deal with militants



By Anwar Iqbal


WASHINGTON, May 20: After watching from the sidelines for a few weeks, the United States on Tuesday finally raised objections to Pakistan’s efforts to negotiate a peace deal with militants in the tribal areas.

In a written testimony submitted to a congressional panel, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte also indicated that Islamabad did not consult Washington before making the new peace move as the US learned about it from the media.

“The media has reported that the government of Pakistan has been exploring peace agreements with certain groups in the tribal areas,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Given past failures, we have raised our concerns about these negotiations with Pakistan’s leaders.”

US officials had so far been expressing reservations about the deal, reminding Islamabad that a similar effort by the Musharraf government in 2006 only helped militants regroup and rearm.

The US media also had quoted unnamed official sources as saying that Washington has conveyed its opposition to the proposed deal to Islamabad.

But so far, Mr Negroponte is the first senior US official to acknowledge publicly that the United States not only has concerns about the deal, it also has conveyed its concerns to Pakistan.

In the same paragraph, Mr Negroponte, however, assures Pakistan’s new leaders that the US opposition to the proposed deal should not be seen as a rejection of the country’s democratic set-up.

“It is our belief that a moderate government with a democratic mandate has been and will continue to be a good partner in this extremely difficult effort,” he said.

“We are now working equally hard with Pakistan’s leaders, including the moderate Awami National Party which won elections in the NWFP, to explore how we can help the new government of Pakistan extend the authority of the Pakistani state to the tribal areas.”

In the beginning of his statement, Mr Negroponte spelled out why the United States remains concerned about Pakistan.

“Pakistan is the world’s second most populous Muslim state. It has nuclear weapons, and it is on the front lines of the battle against international terrorism, the most serious security threat of the 21st century,” he said.

Mr Negroponte’s statement also echoes the Afghan position on this issue, which insists that Afghanistan should be involved in any peace move Pakistan makes in the tribal areas.

The Afghan position goes beyond the war on terror and mirrors Kabul’s traditional rejection of the Durand Line as an international border.

Mr Negroponte, however, confined himself to the war on terror. “The terrorist problem in Pakistan and the terrorist problem in Afghanistan are inextricably intertwined,” he said.

“What happens on the Afghan side of the border has a direct impact on Pakistan just as what happens on the Pakistani side affects Afghanistan.”

He said: “The United States needs to find ways to more effectively coordinate and synchronize operations by both nations, and thereby reduce the operating space where the terrorists may function.”

The US official also underlined the need to persuade other nations to help Pakistan deal with the problem of terrorism.

“We must design and execute our strategy to assist Pakistan in such a way as to persuade other nations -- many other nations -- to take the problems the Pakistanis confront as seriously as we do,” he said.

“Regional, Middle Eastern, European, African, and Asian interests are just as threatened by international terrorism and violent extremism as our own interests here in the Western Hemisphere.”

The United States, he said, was also working with Pakistan on a six-year multi-faceted Security Development Plan to enhance the country’s ability to secure its border with Afghanistan.

The plan was co-developed by the US embassy in Islamabad and the US Central Command in coordination with the government of Pakistan.

In fiscal years 2007 to 2008, the US Department of Defence provided over $200 million. In 2009, the US administration is seeking at least $100 million for the plan.

Mr Negroponte said that the Pentagon will equip and train special operations units of the Pakistan Army. Training will focus on the Special Services Group and its helicopter mobility unit, the 21st Quick Reaction Squadron, to enhance its ability to execute combat missions in the border region.