 PakistanÂ’s peace deal with pro-Taliban tribes along the Afghan border in North Waziristan has raised concern with analysts in Afghanistan asking if the militants could be trusted to halt the cross-border movement of insurgents.
They also questioned the timing of the accord in North Waziristan on Tuesday, on the eve of a visit to Kabul by President Pervez Musharraf who said “the deal was an achievement”.
| By that standard, Quasimodo's hump was an "achievement." |
The deal aims to end two years of violence in the semi-autonomous tribal zone of North Waziristan. Crucially for Afghanistan, the Taliban said militants would not be allowed to move across the border to carry out attacks.
| Right. That'll happen. In Perv we trust. |
In turn, the government will drop check posts, consult locals before carrying out attacks and pay compensation for losses during the military operations. The government has already released the 132 people it had arrested, and returned seized vehicles and weapons. Soldiers will continue to operate in the area “against the terrorists”, including Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, said Pakistani Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal.
| "Oh, yasss! Many many operations by the mighty Pakistani army are in the works!" |
Musharraf insisted at a media briefing with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday the deal meant that there would be “no Taliban activity on our side of the border or across the border in Afghanistan”.
| His lips move. Words come out. They make no sense. |
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