Militants in northwest Pakistan disavowed a peace pact with the
government and launched two days of suicide attacks and bombings
that killed at least 70 people, dramatically escalating the
violence in the al-Qaida infiltrated region.
The attacks Sunday and Saturday followed strident calls by
extremists to avenge the government's bloody storming of
Islamabad's Red Mosque and a declaration of jihad, or holy war, by
at least one pro-Taliban cleric.
Termination of the peace treaty, the hopeful handiwork of
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, puts even greater pressure on the
military leader as he struggles with both Islamic extremists and a
gathering pro-democracy movement.
There is concern in Pakistan that the gathering sense of crisis
could prompt Musharraf to cancel elections later this year and
declare a state of emergency - despite his repeated denials.
However, Musharraf can also use the turbulence to convince
Washington, his key backer, that he remains a vital bulwark against
extremists in the Islamic world's only declared nuclear state.
The US national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, expressed
concern Sunday about the threat from militants in Pakistan, but
supported Musharraf's recent responses.
"He has a safe haven problem in an area of his country where
Pakistan's central government has really not been present for
decades or even generations. It is a problem for him," Hadley told
CNN's "Late Edition."
But in a separate interview on Fox News Sunday, Hadley
acknowledged that the United States was dissatisfied with
Musharraf's policies.
"The action has at this point not been adequate, not effective,"
Hadley said. "He's doing more. We are urging him to do more, and
we're providing our full support to what he's contemplating."
Abdullah Farhad, a militant spokesman, said the 10-month-old
cease-fire was being terminated in North Waziristan, a remote area
on the Afghan border where the US worries that al-Qaida has
regrouped.
He said Taliban leaders made the decision after the government
failed to abide by their demand to withdraw troops from checkpoints
by Sunday afternoon. He also accused authorities of launching
attacks and failing to compensate those harmed.
"The peace agreement has ended," Farhad told reporters in
Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province.
The government deployed thousands of troops to restive areas of
the province in recent days in hopes of stemming a backlash to the
storming of the radical Red Mosque.
But they failed to protect themselves Sunday against suicide
attacks and a roadside bomb which together killed 44 people and
wounded more than 100.
Two suicide bombers and a roadside bomb struck a military convoy
in Swat, a mountainous area northeast of Peshawar, killing 18
people and wounding 47, a government official said, citing an
official report being sent to Islamabad.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was
not authorized to speak with the media, said two explosive-laden
vans driven rammed the convoy near the town of Matta. He said seven
civilians also died.
Bodies and the wounded were pulled from the shattered military
vehicles. Helmets, an engine, and pieces of twisted metal were
strewn over a wide area, some of it stained with blood.
Television footage showed about half a dozen roadside houses
also destroyed by the blasts. People dug four corpses out of the
rubble, among them a young girl.
In the day's second attack, a suicide bomber targeted scores of
people taking medical and written exams for recruitment to the
police force in the city of Dera Ismail Khan. The blast killed 26
people and wounded 35, said police officer Habibur Rahman.
More than 150 people were on the grounds of the police
headquarters when the bomber struck. Police said the bomber's head
and suicide vest were found.
On Saturday, at least 26 soldiers were killed and 54 wounded in
a suicide car bombing north of Miran Shah, North Waziristan's main
town, the army said.
Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said the government was
investigating whether the attacks were related to the Red Mosque
operation.
Speaking on Pakistan's Geo television, he said militants had
violated the Waziristan deal by attacking government targets.
Authorities would hold tribal leaders responsible, he said.
Tensions are high in Pakistan after the mosque raid, which ended
an eight-day siege with a hard-line cleric and his militant
supporters. More than 100 died during the standoff.
The region along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan has seen
increased activity by local militants, the Taliban, and - according
to a recent US assessment - al-Qaida.
One of the army's apparent targets is Maulana Fazlullah, a
radical cleric who has pressed for Taliban-style rule in Pakistan -
much like the leaders of the Red Mosque. Fazlullah was accused of
telling supporters to prepare for jihad, or holy war, to avenge the
mosque assault.
Intelligence officials in Swat say Fazlullah announced on an FM
radio station Saturday night that he was fleeing to avoid
arrest.
A document announcing the end of the peace pact in North
Waziristan was passed around in the bazaar in Miran Shah. The
signatories referred to themselves as the Taliban, a term commonly
used by militants in northwest Pakistan, though their links with
the Taliban fighting in neighboring Afghanistan are murky.
Under the Sept. 5, 2006, truce, the Pakistan army pulled back to
barracks tens of thousands of troops that had been involved in
bloody operations against suspected Taliban and al-Qaida hideouts,
and militants agreed to halt attacks in Pakistan and over the
border against foreign troops in Afghanistan. Tribal elders were
supposed to police the deal.
Musharraf had clung to the agreement and similar pacts in
neighboring areas, arguing that, by empowering tribal leaders to
police their own fiefdoms in return for development aid, they
offered the only chance of bringing long-term stability.
However, critics have argued that Musharraf's decision to cut a
deal effectively handed the Taliban and al-Qaida a safe haven from
which to plot attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan and in the West.
(China Daily via AP July 16, 2007)
