Pak govt rejects Taliban’s offer of talks, ceasefire
Monday, August 25, 2008 at 11:08 am Under World News Alerts 11 views
The Pakistani Taliban’s offer of a unilateral ceasefire has been rejected by the government, which has said the militants should first surrender their arms if they are serious about peace talks.
Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar announced the truce on Sunday after consultations between the militants and a tribal jirga or council to pave the way for talks with the government.
Taliban has accepted the jirga’s request that militants should suspend all actions against security forces, he said, adding they were ready to hold talks with the government if operations against them were halted.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, however, said the government would not consider the ceasefire until the Taliban laid down their arms. He said more troops had been sent to intensify operations in the tribal areas, where 550 militants and 16 civilians had been killed so far.
Reiterating the government’s resolve to establish its writ across the country, Malik said, “We will not back down from our principled decision”.
The Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition had so far favoured political engagement and economic development to tackle militancy in the North West Frontier Province and the adjoining semi-autonomous tribal areas, with the use of military force being considered as a last option.
A recent spurt in violence by the Taliban, including three deadly suicide bombings last week that killed over 100 people, has spurred a crackdown on the militants, especially in the Swat valley of the NWFP and Bajaur Agency.
Malik said the security forces had busted a network of suicide bombers on the basis of information provided by a would-be suicide attacker who was arrested after the deadly attack near an ordinance factory complex in Wah cantonment on Thursday.
The Pakistan Army too said it was unaware of any ceasefire with the Taliban. An army spokesman said no decision has yet been taken to stop the anti-militancy operation in Bajaur Agency.
“The operation will continue till the targets are achieved,” he said.
The security forces launched a major operation in Bajaur earlier this month. The army says over 200 militants have been killed but the Taliban have denied this and claimed that they had inflicted heavy losses on the army. Thirty civilians, including women and children, have also been killed during the clashes.
(Agencies)
( This post is from an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by APakistanNews.Com.)
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