Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Los Angeles Times
February 7, 2008 The move is likely to frustrate the U.S., which wants decisive action against the militants. Meanwhile, a helicopter crash kills three generals.
By Laura King, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN —After weeks of escalating battles with government troops, Taliban militants on Wednesday declared a cease-fire -- a move likely to frustrate U.S. officials who have urged Pakistan to act decisively against Islamic radicals ensconced in the country's tribal belt.
The government of President Pervez Musharraf did not confirm that a truce had been struck, but Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said the government was ready for "dialogue" with the militants. In the past, such announcements by the militants have signaled an imminent accord.
At the same time, Pakistan's military suffered a setback when three senior army generals, including the commander in restive South Waziristan, were killed in a helicopter crash that was blamed on technical problems.
Elsewhere, apparent election-related violence broke out in Karachi, the country's largest city. Gunmen killed a senior official of the Awami National Party, a secular group representing Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun minority.
Hundreds of supporters rioted in response to the shooting of party Vice President Fazal Rahman Kakakhel, setting vehicles ablaze and firing guns into the air.
The deadly attack and ensuing violence raised fears that the government could again postpone parliamentary elections, set to take place Feb. 18.
That balloting was originally scheduled for Jan. 8, but was put off six weeks after rioting broke out in the wake of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's assassination on Dec. 27. That street violence also was centered in Karachi.
The cease-fire by Taliban militants in the tribal areas was announced by a spokesman for Baitullah Mahsud, the newly minted commander of what is believed to be the largest concentration of pro-Taliban fighters in Pakistan.
The spokesman, who goes by the name Maulana Omar, told journalists by telephone that the group had "decided to halt activities across the country for an indefinite period." However, he said the halt to fighting came at the initiative of the government.
Although the chief military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said no cease-fire agreement had been reached, witnesses said army troops had begun dismantling checkpoints and pulling back from areas where fighting had raged in recent days.
A truce might provide a preelection respite from suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of people across Pakistan, including one in the garrison city of Rawalpindi this week that killed about eight people.
Mahsud's Al Qaeda-linked group has been blamed for dozens of attacks, and fear of suicide bombings has all but halted large campaign rallies in advance of the parliamentary vote.
Previous cease-fires in the tribal areas have been harshly criticized by the United States and other Western governments, which say the militants have used such truces to rearm and regroup.
Word of this latest accord came only a day after the U.S. director of national intelligence, J. Michael McConnell, told a Senate panel that Pakistan faces an "existential threat" from militants concentrated in the tribal areas.
Such groups, McConnell said, have been growing in strength and sophistication, rebuilding networks disrupted by the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and becoming better able to recruit and train members.
In response to that testimony, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the government was doing all it could to fight the militants.
Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq said at a news briefing that Pakistan had made "more sacrifices than any other country" in combating Islamic radicals.
Although Pakistan says its military is capable of confronting militant groups on its own, there have been recent indications that Musharraf has given at least tacit permission for U.S. forces to act if they have solid intelligence on the whereabouts of senior Al Qaeda figures.
One such figure, Abu Laith al Libi, was killed last week in a missile strike that was widely attributed to the United States, although U.S. officials did not acknowledge responsibility. Musharraf's government said nothing about the strike; in the past it has described U.S. attacks as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty.
Wednesday's helicopter crash in South Waziristan was close to the scene of recent major fighting, but Abbas, the military spokesman, said the pilot had reported technical problems shortly before the aircraft went down in a rugged area.
Among the dead was Maj. Gen. Javed Sultan, who commanded government forces in South Waziristan. The crash also killed two other generals, a lieutenant colonel, three captains and an enlisted man, the military said.
Special correspondents Zulfiqar Ali in Peshawar and Shahid Husain in Karachi contributed to this report.
February 7, 2008 The move is likely to frustrate the U.S., which wants decisive action against the militants. Meanwhile, a helicopter crash kills three generals.
By Laura King, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN —After weeks of escalating battles with government troops, Taliban militants on Wednesday declared a cease-fire -- a move likely to frustrate U.S. officials who have urged Pakistan to act decisively against Islamic radicals ensconced in the country's tribal belt.
The government of President Pervez Musharraf did not confirm that a truce had been struck, but Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said the government was ready for "dialogue" with the militants. In the past, such announcements by the militants have signaled an imminent accord.
At the same time, Pakistan's military suffered a setback when three senior army generals, including the commander in restive South Waziristan, were killed in a helicopter crash that was blamed on technical problems.
Elsewhere, apparent election-related violence broke out in Karachi, the country's largest city. Gunmen killed a senior official of the Awami National Party, a secular group representing Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun minority.
Hundreds of supporters rioted in response to the shooting of party Vice President Fazal Rahman Kakakhel, setting vehicles ablaze and firing guns into the air.
The deadly attack and ensuing violence raised fears that the government could again postpone parliamentary elections, set to take place Feb. 18.
That balloting was originally scheduled for Jan. 8, but was put off six weeks after rioting broke out in the wake of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's assassination on Dec. 27. That street violence also was centered in Karachi.
The cease-fire by Taliban militants in the tribal areas was announced by a spokesman for Baitullah Mahsud, the newly minted commander of what is believed to be the largest concentration of pro-Taliban fighters in Pakistan.
The spokesman, who goes by the name Maulana Omar, told journalists by telephone that the group had "decided to halt activities across the country for an indefinite period." However, he said the halt to fighting came at the initiative of the government.
Although the chief military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said no cease-fire agreement had been reached, witnesses said army troops had begun dismantling checkpoints and pulling back from areas where fighting had raged in recent days.
A truce might provide a preelection respite from suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of people across Pakistan, including one in the garrison city of Rawalpindi this week that killed about eight people.
Mahsud's Al Qaeda-linked group has been blamed for dozens of attacks, and fear of suicide bombings has all but halted large campaign rallies in advance of the parliamentary vote.
Previous cease-fires in the tribal areas have been harshly criticized by the United States and other Western governments, which say the militants have used such truces to rearm and regroup.
Word of this latest accord came only a day after the U.S. director of national intelligence, J. Michael McConnell, told a Senate panel that Pakistan faces an "existential threat" from militants concentrated in the tribal areas.
Such groups, McConnell said, have been growing in strength and sophistication, rebuilding networks disrupted by the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and becoming better able to recruit and train members.
In response to that testimony, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the government was doing all it could to fight the militants.
Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq said at a news briefing that Pakistan had made "more sacrifices than any other country" in combating Islamic radicals.
Although Pakistan says its military is capable of confronting militant groups on its own, there have been recent indications that Musharraf has given at least tacit permission for U.S. forces to act if they have solid intelligence on the whereabouts of senior Al Qaeda figures.
One such figure, Abu Laith al Libi, was killed last week in a missile strike that was widely attributed to the United States, although U.S. officials did not acknowledge responsibility. Musharraf's government said nothing about the strike; in the past it has described U.S. attacks as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty.
Wednesday's helicopter crash in South Waziristan was close to the scene of recent major fighting, but Abbas, the military spokesman, said the pilot had reported technical problems shortly before the aircraft went down in a rugged area.
Among the dead was Maj. Gen. Javed Sultan, who commanded government forces in South Waziristan. The crash also killed two other generals, a lieutenant colonel, three captains and an enlisted man, the military said.
Special correspondents Zulfiqar Ali in Peshawar and Shahid Husain in Karachi contributed to this report.