Pakistani militants 'call truce'

By Charlie

Yeah, it probably sounded like “Stop Shooting! We’re Reloading!”

A leading Pakistani militant group is reported to have declared a truce in the South Waziristan region and be willing to enter peace talks.
Few details have emerged about the terms of the truce, announced on Wednesday by Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan, a militant umbrella group.

The group's leader, Baitullah Mehsud, is accused by the government of being behind the murder of Benazir Bhutto.

The government has not confirmed the truce, but Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said the national leadership was ready for a dialogue with the militants.

Isn’t that tremendous, a “a dialogue with the militants.” The sad fact here is that the Pakistani army is having a tough time rooting out the Taliban from their Northwest Frontier province and their Federally Administrated Tribal Area. Negotiating with them in order to gain a better position on the battlefield may be the only option that the Pakistani forces have left, granting them some time and space to re-arm and reinforce. Which raises an interesting question –who can do it faster, the army, or the Taliban?

February 7, 2008 12:02 PM Terrorism ~ The Long War