TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Pakistan Bombs Militant Leader's Headquarters

ADVERTISEMENT

The New York Times

Published: June 29, 2008

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - PESHAWAR, Pakistan - With Islamic militants tightening their grip around Peshawar, kidnapping residents and threatening the city itself, the new Pakistani coalition government delivered its first military response Saturday.

The action was limited, with security forces shelling territory outside Peshawar controlled by an extremist leader. Army forces were not used, and the intent apparently was merely to push the militants back from the city's perimeter.

But the shelling was the first time the new civilian government, which has been committed to negotiating peace accords with Pakistani Taliban and other Islamic militants, resorted to military action.

In response, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, announced he had suspended his participation in peace talks.

"Peace cannot be brought with force and aggression. This will be very unfortunate for the Pakistani nation if fighting starts again," he told The Associated Press by telephone.

The offensive in the Khyber tribal region appeared to mark a refinement in strategy by the new government - backing its calls for peace deals in the tribal areas on the Afghan border with the threat of force against militants who get out of line.

The United States said such deals were giving militants the freedom to regroup for attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. With growing militant threats to the nearby Pakistani city of Peshawar - and to the key Khyber supply route for U.S. forces in Afghanistan - Pakistan took action.

The headquarters of militant leader Menghal Bagh was blown up in a scene broadcast on national television. Bagh fled to the remote Tirah Valley along the Afghan border, a military intelligence official in the frontier said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The peace talks between the Pakistani government and Mehsud have been criticized by the United States and NATO on the grounds that an accord would grant the Pakistani Taliban time to further strengthen their ability to strike at coalition forces across the border in Afghanistan.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT