Swat Taliban drive ever closer to the capital

This is from thenational.ae.

No doubt the US will be unhappy with the manner in which the Pakistan govt. seems to be willing to negotiate with the Taliban while the Taliban is brazenly working to extend its influence beyond SWAT at the same time. There seems to be a situation where there will be more conflict between Pakistani aims and those of the US.


Swat Taliban drive ever closer to the capital
Isambard Wilkinson and Ashfaq Yusufzai, Foreign Correspondents
Last Updated: April 15. 2009 8:30AM UAE / April 15. 2009 4:30AM GMT





BUNER, PAKISTAN // Taliban militants from the Pakistani valley of Swat, freed up after striking a peace deal with the government, have moved into neighbouring Buner, about 95km from the capital, Islamabad.The militants are encroaching by using mosques as recruiting centres and the area’s Sufi shrine as their hub of operations.In what appears to be a rehash of the administrative stance that critics say led to Swat being overrun by militants, the police have been told to leave them alone.The first wave of Taliban from Swat, a group of about 100, moved into Buner last month after the government agreed to a peace deal with militants in February.Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, formally signed the accord on Monday night after the National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution recommending he approve it.Conservatives and the ruling party of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the Awami National Party, had accused Mr Zardari of delaying signing the bill because of liberal and US opposition.The ANP had threatened to pull out of the federal government coalition if Mr Zardari did not sign the Nizam-i-Adl regulation (Sharia) immediately.A military source said signing the peace deal would ultimately be beneficial. He said locals in Swat would see that the Taliban, which has administered executions and floggings, would not provide the kind of justice they were looking for and withdraw their support from the Islamic militia.But the march of the Taliban has continued.Some analysts fear that the deal, which applies to Swat and neighbouring Malakand, an area of around three million people, will embolden the Taliban to target other areas.After their first foray into Buner, a convoy of 10 double-cabin four-wheel drive pick-up trucks, loaded with Taliban militants armed with Kalashnikovs, rocket launchers and heavy machine guns, entered neighbouring Swabi district. From there they took the Islamabad to Peshawar motorway, and exited at Mardan, a key army garrison, before returning to Swat.Analysts are concerned that militants aim to cut off the motorway that runs between Islamabad and Peshawar, the NWFP’s capital.Kamran Shafi, a political commentator and former army officer, said that several weeks after the army handed Swat over to the Taliban, the country’s army chief, Gen Ashfaq Kiyani, said the military was “ready to face any threat, internal or external”.“Can you even believe any of this? What is happening to this country of ours? How long will we live in denial? When will we realise that if we don’t act now it will all be over, that the Taliban will simply take over the state using the shock and awe that comes from killing wantonly and cruelly,” Mr Shafi asked.ANP government officials have told the police to allow Taliban militants in Buner a free hand in a district they captured last week.“We have been instructed by the government to stay away from Taliban as they are our guests and should be allowed to walk around the marketplace”, said a police officer in Pir Baba police station in Buner district.Any action against the Taliban could derail the peace process, he said, requesting anonymity out of concern for his job. Authorities say they are negotiating with the militants to persuade them to withdraw, but the Taliban have stayed and appear determined to take over the valley, police said.“They are everywhere,” said Arsala Khan, a deputy superintendent of police. “They are visiting mosques; they are visiting bazaars asking people to help them in enforcing Sharia.“Buner is fast turning into Swat.”On Saturday, Taliban locked the shrine of Syed Ali Shah Tarmezi, popularly known as Pir Baba, which is visited by Muslims from around the country as a mark of reverence.The shrine’s custodian, Syed Mohammad Makhdoom Hussain Shah, said the Taliban are attempting to sow division. “It is a conspiracy to pit the Muslims of different sects against each other,” he said, a veiled reference to the Taliban, who belong to the “Panjpir” school of Islamic thought and are opposed to shrines.“You remember that Taliban had closed down all shrines when they ruled over Afghanistan,” he said.The Taliban have not faced any resistance in entering Buner except for a group of a few landlords in Sultanwas village 1.5km away from Pir Baba bazaar, who fought them last week in an individual capacity, resulting in the deaths of six individuals, including three police constables. “It’s natural, militants will advance to more districts, such as Mardan, Swabi, Mansehra, Nowshera if they are left unchecked,” said Said Alam Mahsud, a medical doctor and leader of the nationalist Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party.The ANP government has denied a militant problem exists in Bunder.“The Buner problem has been resolved and Taliban have left,” said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the ANP spokesman and information minister.The mountainous Buner district is home to 7m people. It is impoverished and vulnerable to the Taliban’s overtures. An atmosphere of gloom and fear has enveloped the dusty bazaar and people were unwilling to speak about the Taliban for fear of reprisal.“We are happy over the Taliban’s march towards Buner. They are champions of Islam. We are with them,” said one man who was in a group of about a dozen youngsters who following the Taliban’s soldiers, in a mosque in Kalakheelam village near Pir Baba. The modern, shiny weaponry carried by Taliban entice the youth.Rehmanullah, a vegetable-seller, said he was giving free meals to the Taliban every day as sign of hospitality.“Where is the government? Where are the elected representatives? We are being pushed into the Stone Age,” said Adnan Khan, a student at Swari Degree College in Pir Baba.iwilkinson@thenational.ae