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Monday, March 03, 2014
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Sunday announced suspension of air strikes on the Taliban but said that any attack would be retaliated.In a written statement, the interior minister said the government took the announcement of suspension of violent activities by the Taliban as a positive gesture.
In response, he said the government had decided to suspend the air attacks on the Taliban. “Since the government came in power in June last year, neither any military operation was conducted nor any kind of action was taken (against Taliban) without a reason,” Nisar said.
He said every government action was taken as reaction to violent activities by the Taliban. “The government and armed forces of Pakistan reserve their right to react and to take counteraction against the troublemakers and violence against them and the people of Pakistan,” the interior minister said.
AFP adds: The government entered into peace talks with the Taliban last month aimed at ending the militants’ seven-year insurgency, but the dialogue broke down after militants killed 23 kidnapped soldiers. The military responded with a series of air strikes in the volatile northwestern tribal areas that left more than 100 insurgents dead, and on Saturday the Taliban announced a month-long ceasefire aimed at resuming the stalled talks.
The Taliban’s ceasefire announcement was met with skepticism by analysts who said it might have been a tactic to allow the militants to regroup after they had suffered heavy losses in the air strikes.
Rahimullah Yusufzai, a member of the government’s negotiation team, said: “I think that the possibility of resumption of peace talks has now increased. A ceasefire was the demand of the government and the negotiations committee.
“But the ceasefire should be effective. If attacks continue, the congenial environment we are searching for won’t materialise.”Reacting to the minister’s announcement, political analyst Raza Rumi said that the government was attempting to play a balancing act and had to match the Taliban’s ceasefire “to ensure right wing public opinion does not turn against them.
“I think one issue is that the government wants to appear as a peace loving political entity. But deep down there is a desire by both the parties to buy more time given the way the situation is unfolding in Afghanistan. They want to wait for what happens (in Afghanistan).”
Air strikes on Taliban suspended - thenews.com.pk
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Sunday announced suspension of air strikes on the Taliban but said that any attack would be retaliated.In a written statement, the interior minister said the government took the announcement of suspension of violent activities by the Taliban as a positive gesture.
In response, he said the government had decided to suspend the air attacks on the Taliban. “Since the government came in power in June last year, neither any military operation was conducted nor any kind of action was taken (against Taliban) without a reason,” Nisar said.
He said every government action was taken as reaction to violent activities by the Taliban. “The government and armed forces of Pakistan reserve their right to react and to take counteraction against the troublemakers and violence against them and the people of Pakistan,” the interior minister said.
AFP adds: The government entered into peace talks with the Taliban last month aimed at ending the militants’ seven-year insurgency, but the dialogue broke down after militants killed 23 kidnapped soldiers. The military responded with a series of air strikes in the volatile northwestern tribal areas that left more than 100 insurgents dead, and on Saturday the Taliban announced a month-long ceasefire aimed at resuming the stalled talks.
The Taliban’s ceasefire announcement was met with skepticism by analysts who said it might have been a tactic to allow the militants to regroup after they had suffered heavy losses in the air strikes.
Rahimullah Yusufzai, a member of the government’s negotiation team, said: “I think that the possibility of resumption of peace talks has now increased. A ceasefire was the demand of the government and the negotiations committee.
“But the ceasefire should be effective. If attacks continue, the congenial environment we are searching for won’t materialise.”Reacting to the minister’s announcement, political analyst Raza Rumi said that the government was attempting to play a balancing act and had to match the Taliban’s ceasefire “to ensure right wing public opinion does not turn against them.
“I think one issue is that the government wants to appear as a peace loving political entity. But deep down there is a desire by both the parties to buy more time given the way the situation is unfolding in Afghanistan. They want to wait for what happens (in Afghanistan).”
Air strikes on Taliban suspended - thenews.com.pk
