Missiles rained down Monday on what the military said was an Al Qaeda hideout in Bajaur district, a restive tribal area along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. The attack, which reportedly killed about 80 people in a madrassah, or religious school, is the second on Bajaur in less than a year. But it has erupted across a vastly different political context, raising concerns about the direction of Pakistan's efforts to contain terrorism in the area. When missiles last January destroyed a compound in Damadola, killing 13 civilians, the government of Pakistan was still at war with militants in the tribal zones. Now, however, they are nominally at peace, having signed a controversial accord in North Waziristan that many, including officials in Afghanistan and NATO, have viewed with skepticism. Under the deal, tribal elders agreed to remove foreign fighters from tribal areas and to stop militants from entering Afghanistan. In return, the Army released hundreds of Taliban militants and returned their weapons, vehicle and equipment. Monday, the tribal zone's provincial government had been expected to sign a similar accord - now in doubt - in Bajaur, broadening a peace process with Taliban-linked tribesmen.
The timing of the strike raises questions about Pakistan's commitment to such deals, as well as the commitment of its allies across the border. It also threatens to stoke extremism in an area that seemed, somewhat shakily, to be moving toward peace. Pakistan has worked hard to stave off concerns about its policy of negotiating with terrorists. Some observers say they have failed, and that Monday's strike was a vote of no confidence from American and NATO forces across the border. "What has happened today is a remarkable disapproval of the Pakistani government's policy [in the tribal areas]," says Rasul Bakhsh Rais, a political-science professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. "NATO and the Americans are telling Pakistan, 'If you have retreated from the area, then we will go there.' "