By Li Jingchen

A five-star hotel in northwestern Pakistan's Peshawar city was hit by a suicide bombing attack, leaving at least 18 persons dead and scores of others injured on Tuesday evening. Officials and workers of some United Nations organizations were also among the dead and injured, triggering worldwide concern about the law and order situation in Pakistan.

The army is updating the media about its progress of military operation in Malakand Division of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) on the daily basis. Despite everyday claims of killings of militants, the army has failed to clear any district in the Division after more than one month of operation. Meanwhile, around 2.5 million persons in the conflict areas have been displaced and major cities including the capital Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar have witnessed a rising frequency of terror strikes.

Analysts point that Pakistan is trapped in its anti-terror war of which there is no easy way out.

The People's Party (PPP), led by the current President Asif Ali Zardari, became the majority party in National Assembly in the general elections held in February last year. The PPP formed a coalition government after winning the elections. The new government evolved an innovative strategy to fight terrorism, and named it as "Three D's" strategy consisting of Dialogue, Development, and Deterrence.

In line with the government's new strategy, the provincial government of NWFP started to talk to Taliban through a mediator and eventually struck a peace deal with an outlawed group called Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM). According to the deal, Sharia, or Islamic laws, should be implemented in Malakand Division of NWFP which includes Swat district geologically if peace was restored in Swat.

As people in the restive northwestern areas have been suffering from the deteriorating security situation and long for peace and development, the peace deal was welcomed among them. When the deal was discussed in a National Assembly session on April 13, it was passed unanimously. Zardari signed and approved a regulation in favor of the deal on the same day.

When each stake holder of the deal was gearing up for the implementation, the United States expressed its dissatisfaction over the deal, saying that the expansion of Taliban would pose a threat to the US troops in the neighboring Afghanistan. The US found an alibi to pressure Pakistan when the Taliban entered Buner District from the adjacent Swat district early April. Some US officials and western media said that the expansion of Taliban in Buner District, less than 100 kms from the capital, was a threat to the national security of Pakistan, the only nuclear country among all the Muslim countries.

On April 28, Pakistan Army announced that an operation would be launched against militants in Buner. From that day on, the army holds regular press conference about the progress of its operation. An offensive was also initiated against militants in Dir and Swat districts.

So far more than 1300 militants have been killed in the ongoing operation and some major positions have been secured by security forces who failed to clear one single district to date.

It is worth mentioning that the nature of the operation was not ascertained until May 18 when Pakistani government said the operation was anti-insurgency. On that same day, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani chaired an all parties' party and 43 party leaders across the country endorsed a proclamation which supported the military operation.

Apparently, political parties had a difference on the nature of the operation and they reached a consensus after negotiations. The decision to define the operation as anti-insurgency action has left room for possible peace talks with militants in the future. On the other hand, the purpose of the operation was made clear once the nature was ascertained. Analysts said that it would be hard for people in Pakistan among whom anti-US sentiments prevailed to support the operation if it was an anti-terror fight.