Pakistan: Negotiating with the Taliban, again

As the attacks against the Pakistani military are ongoing in North Waziristan, the government continues to press for a "peace deal" with the Taliban. Today, the government of the Northwest Frontier Province dispatched a helicopter filled with local tribal representatives to negotiate with the Taliban. “We are going to Miranshah to discuss the peace accord with Taliban leaders,” Malik Waris Khan, a member of the "peace" jirga told the Daily Times. "The jirga left after a meeting with NWFP Governor Ali Jan Aurakzai. Sources said the jirga members were driven to a secret location to meet Maulana Gul Bahadar, a senior Taliban commander."

Maulana Gul Bahadar, a senior Taliban commander in North Waziristan, was a party to signing the Waziristan Accord in September 2006. Jalaluddin Haqqani, military commander of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and Tahir Yuldashev, the commander of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan were also present at the signing. A host of senior Taliban and al Qaeda leaders backed the compact known as the Waziristan Accord.

Just poking around and came across this....

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Report: Bin Laden Already Dead
Wednesday, December 26, 2001

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Usama bin Laden has died a peaceful death due to an untreated lung complication, the Pakistan Observer reported, citing a Taliban leader who allegedly attended the funeral of the Al Qaeda leader.

"The Coalition troops are engaged in a mad search operation but they would never be able to fulfill their cherished goal of getting Usama alive or dead," the source said.

Bin Laden, according to the source, was suffering from a serious lung complication and succumbed to the disease in mid-December, in the vicinity of the Tora Bora mountains. The source claimed that bin Laden was laid to rest honorably in his last abode and his grave was made as per his Wahabi belief.

About 30 close associates of bin Laden in Al Qaeda, including his most trusted and personal bodyguards, his family members and some "Taliban friends," attended the funeral rites. A volley of bullets was also fired to pay final tribute to the "great leader."

The Taliban source who claims to have seen bin Laden's face before burial said "he looked pale ... but calm, relaxed and confident."

Asked whether bin Laden had any feelings of remorse before death, the source vehemently said "no." Instead, he said, bin Laden was proud that he succeeded in his mission of igniting awareness amongst Muslims about hegemonistic designs and conspiracies of "pagans" against Islam. Bin Laden, he said, held the view that the sacrifice of a few hundred people in Afghanistan was nothing, as those who laid their lives in creating an atmosphere of resistance will be adequately rewarded by Almighty Allah.

When asked where bin Laden was buried, the source said, "I am sure that like other places in Tora Bora, that particular place too must have vanished."

I am getting confused...cause there is this on the 19th ( found the link in the left sidebar of the Fourth Rail....):

Musharraf vows to confront extremists
By Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad
Last Updated: 3:00am BST 19/07/2007

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Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, yesterday declared war on Islamic extremists when he announced a hardline policy of "confrontation" amid a rising tide of suicide attacks that have killed more than 100 people in the last week.


	An investigator inspects the site of a suicide bomb blast in Islamabad

The embattled military ruler also said that he will defy his political opponents and by seeking re-election as president while remaining head of the armed forces.

"We are in direct confrontation with the extremist forces - it is moderates versus extremists," the state news agency quoted him as saying.

Gen Musharraf, who is under intense US pressure to crack down on Islamic extremism, pledged to attack those responsible for the upsurge in violence since government troops raided Islamabad's Red Mosque last week.

Yesterday militants killed 17 soldiers in North Waziristan and North West Frontier Province (NWFP) on the Afghan border a day after a suicide bomber killed 16 people in the capital, Islamabad. "We have to attack the source where suicide bombers are sprouting," said Gen Musharraf. "We have a fair idea of who is behind that. We must attack those who sponsor them."

A worsening crisis has gripped parts of northern Pakistan since commandos stormed the radical mosque, killing over 100 people, among them 73 suspected militants. Gen Musharraf's critics claimed the mosque assault had been stage-managed to give him a pretext to stall elections scheduled for later this year.

Yesterday, in a meeting with senior media editors, he ruled out declaring a state of emergency and pledged to hold general elections. But "a purely civilian government will not be able to control the extremists," he said. "We need unity of command."

His decision to go after militants has pitched Pakistan into an unprecedented spiral of violence.

"General Musharraf has not learnt his lesson and this will be an even bigger provocation that will escalate the battle between him and the jihadis," said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a veteran journalist from NWFP.

Gen Musharraf's new tough stance on militants has pleased Washington, as has the move by pro-Taliban militants in the North Waziristan tribal area, on the Afghan border, who called off a 10-month peace deal with the Pakistan government. However the general expressed his hope for future agreements with militants.

Gen Musharraf's new tough stance on militants has pleased Washington, as has the move by pro-Taliban militants in the North Waziristan tribal area, on the Afghan border, who called off a 10-month peace deal with the Pakistan government.

Washington was pleased by both things? Wow, that's just good writing. ;') I think we're seeing Musharraf in action -- during the Red Mosque siege, a FReeper claimed that Musharraf had caved in, then within days the Pakistani troops went in. Dangle a carrot, make some good PR with the noncombatants (which is most of the country), get into position, then finally in apparent exasperation, wipe out the terrorists.

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Representatives sent to negotiate with the Taliban in North Waziristan as suicide attacks are ongoing