Pakistan frees Pro-Taliban leader and makes peace with group.

This is from wiredispatch. The U.S. would like Pakistan to increase combat against pro-Taliban groups in the territories but with Musharraf out of power now the new civilian government is opting for dialogue rather than provoke more unrest. The U.S. will just have to bide its time and hope that peace agreements fail. No doubt the U.S. will chime in about how the peace agreement increases infiltration of militants into Afghanistan.

Pakistan frees pro-Taliban leader, makes peace with group
Pakistan frees pro-Taliban leader and signs peace deal with his militant group
RIAZ KHANAP News
Apr 21, 2008 14:27 EST
Pakistan freed a pro-Taliban cleric and quickly signed an accord with his hard-line group Monday, the first major step by the new government to talk peace with Islamic militants and break with President Pervez Musharraf's policy of using force.


The day's developments began with the release of Sufi Muhammad, who is believed in his 70s, after more than five years in custody following his dispatch of thousands of followers to fight in Afghanistan.
A few hours later, the government of North West Frontier Province said Muhammad's group signed a pact renouncing violence in return for being allowed to peacefully campaign for Islamic law. Security forces have the right to "act against" any extremists who attack the government.
Analysts cautioned it would take time to judge the new approach, noting Musharraf also struck truces with some groups that U.S. officials have complained gave Pakistani militants as well as Taliban and al-Qaida fighters a chance to build up their strength.
The anti-government sentiments in the region affected by Monday's deal are seen as less intractable than those held by Taliban sympathizers in the tribal regions of Waziristan, where U.S. officials believe Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders are hiding.
Provincial government spokesman Faridullah Khan said the pact covers the Swat Valley and neighboring districts in this area along the Afghan frontier.
It was not clear if the deal was accepted by Muhammad's son-in-law, Mualana Fazlullah, whose fighters seized control of the Swat Valley last year, prompting a bloody army offensive.
Fazlullah's spokesman could not be reached for comment late Monday. Fazlullah is reportedly at odds with Muhammad, and experts expressed doubts the younger militant would change.
"I think Maulana Fazlullah will continue with whatever he is doing," said Mehmood Shah, former security chief for Pakistan's tribal areas.
Talat Masood, a retired general and security analyst, said the deal with Muhammad demonstrated the new government's willingness to try dialogue with militants and could increase pressure on Fazlullah and others to lay down their arms.
"But it's a long way before you can make any judgment as to whether this is a success," he said, citing the previous failed peace efforts with pro-Taliban militants.
"We have to see ... to what extent both parties are going to abide by the agreement and whether the militants use this period to consolidate," he said.
Pakistan's national government, led by the party of assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, wants to use dialogue and development to curb militancy in the tribal region. The North West Frontier provincial government, which is led by a Pashtun nationalist party, has joined the effort.
It is a major shift from the more aggressive approach that Musharraf's military regime took with U.S. support after Pakistan joined the war on terror following the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Western nations have voiced support for dialogue if Pakistan's militants renounce violence, but the release of Muhammad could cause some unease. Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad could not be reached for comment late Monday.

Military flags all-out onslaught in 'badlands'

The US is also preparing to involve more special operations units in Pakistan. Musharraf or the new military commander is changing policy. This policy change could bring even more unrest and suicide bombings throughout Pakistan. Perhaps it is a bit surprising that thrusts into the territories should occur before the elections. It could very well bring so much violence that elections might not be possible even in February. Maybe that is the idea but it seems a very risky proposition. The Pakistani forces have already suffered considerable casualties attempting to subdue the tribal areas.

Military flags all-out onslaught in 'badlands' Bruce Loudon, South Asia correspondent | January 07, 2008
PAKISTAN yesterday signalled it would launch a "massive military operation" into the al-Qa'ida- and Taliban-infested "badlands" of its North West Frontier Province, aimed at killing the jihadi militant leader blamed for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

In preparation for the offensive, Lieutenant General Ali Mohammed Jan Aurakzai, Governor of NWFP and architect of Islamabad's repeated attempts over the past year to reach peace agreements with the militants, was removed from his job and replaced by the hardline Governor of restive Balochistan, Awais Ahmad Ghani.

Pakistani commentators said the move was the forerunner to the biggest military offensive launched in North and South Waziristan, where militant leader Baitullah Mehsud has his stronghold.

North Waziristan is also where Osama bin Laden and the al-Qa'ida leadership is believed to be located, and sources said the removal of General Aurakzai was likely to signal a new offensive against the terror group.

General Aurakzai was bitterly opposed to any large-scale military onslaught against Mehsud, whom the Government holds responsible for the Bhutto assassination. The militant leader is believed to be protected by an army of at least 20,000 highly trained and heavily armed tribesmen, as well as hundreds of suicide bombers prepared to unleash a wave of terror across Pakistan if any new military operation were to be launched.

Mehsud was blamed for the 19 major suicide bomb attacks that have taken place across Pakistan in the past three months, including the attack on Bhutto. More than 500 people have been killed and many more wounded in the attacks.

A close ally of President Pervez Musharraf, General Aurakzai has doggedly maintained that peace deals with the jihadi militants and compromise with them is the only viable policy for Pakistan.

His removal, given his long-standing closeness to Mr Musharraf, is seen as representing a cosmic shift in Islamabad's strategy, moving it from a controversial policy of "live and let live" with the jihadi militants to one of "offensive engagement".

A senior analyst in Islamabad said: "Aurakzai's departure is the biggest change in Pakistan's policy towards the jihadi militants in years. It means they're going into full-scale offensive mode following Ms Bhutto's assassination."

Mr Musharraf has told reporters that tackling Mehsud would require a military operation "of division strength". Stung by criticism from around the world of its handling of Bhutto's assassination, the military-dominated Government now appears prepared to deploy a large force in the "badlands" along the border with Afghanistan. Reports spoke of a co-ordinated offensive that would involved Pakistan as well as Afghan forces.

Reports of the offensive came as US journalist Gail Sheehy disclosed that shortly before Bhutto died, she asked the leader of the Pakistan People's Party what she would like to tell US President George W.Bush. Bhutto replied that she would warn him that his support for Mr Musharraf would see al-Qa'ida "marching on Islamabad in two to four years".

Bhutto was murdered as she left a campaign rally on December 27 ahead of elections that were to have been held tomorrow.

British anti-terrorism police from Scotland Yard began examining evidence in Bhutto's assassination yesterday after being asked by Mr Musharraf to assist in the probe and help dispel criticism of the Government. Mr Musharraf admitted at the weekend that Bhutto may have been shot by a gunman, but said she bore responsibility for her death.

The Government had insisted she died smashing her head on the lever of the car sunroof when a suicide bomber blew himself up nearby, killing about 20 people - an explanation that has been widely ridiculed.

Facing intense criticism over the Government's explanation, Mr Musharraf said yesterday the former prime minister should not have stood up in her car