Truce over, Pakistan militants kill 73
(AP)Updated: 2007-07-16 08:30
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.
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