cease fire with the taliban

One of the more war torn areas in Pakistan have started a month long ceasefire with the militants. During this time, a number of meetings will be taking place. Here are the details of the ceasefire.

Farhad said that the ceasefire was conditional to the government’s acceptance of their four demands: 1) That soldiers of the Pakistan Army manning checkposts in North Waziristan would be withdrawn within one month’s time and confined to their camps; and the army would have to pull out of the tribal region after one month;

2) That the government would restore all privileges and rights of the tribes, open closed markets, restore jobs and pay up withheld salaries of tribal employees;

3) All new checkposts, (said to be between 20 and 25), would have to be abolished within one month and only old checkposts would be allowed to exist, and those too should be manned by tribal khasadars — Frontier Corps’ paramilitary soldiers will not man those posts; and

4) Those arrested or captured during military operations in the volatile tribal region be released within a month.

“The offer is conditional and is for one month. But we have the right to defend ourselves if attacked,” the militant spokesman said.

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Full Story

The conditions were accepted.

The Americans were urged to start negotiations with the Taliban, as well.

Zaeef's call was rejected Friday by U.S. and Afghan authorities, who said military action was the only way to bring to justice the militants with blood on their hands.

"We don't negotiate with terrorist organizations and the Taliban extremists have committed themselves to violence," U.S. military spokesman Col. Tom Collins said.

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Ex-Taliban Envoy Warns U.S. to Negotiate

Big surprise on this one.

heh, Taleban

they're friends
they're not
they're useful allies
they're evil scum bags
they're helping secure the middle-east
they're destabilising the country

heh -- what a palaver.

Dont forget all those poppy fields;

'We don't know who carried out this attack, but I ask my people to respect a one-month cease-fire to give peace a chance,''

Yeah, let the drug trade and food to work program [which supports farmers] continue unopposed. Dammit profits are down and the big bosses are very unhappy. The last thing the Taleban want is US and UK journalists popping along with soldiers investigating the shenanigans going on across the border.

"The illegal heroin trade is the largest and fastest growing business sector in Afghanistan, accounting for a 2.7 billion US dollars' profit a year,"

One-third of the Afghan drug traffic reaches Western markets through the so-called northern route, via the ex-Soviet Central Asia and Russia, while two-thirds arrives via Pakistan and Iran,

The opium economy makes up 52% of Afghanistan's gross domestic product, and 11 million drug addicts worldwide use Afghan heroin,

Taleban -- Al-qaeda --- NATO forces --- Pakistan Military

all running around in the heroin trade passages which makes you wonder what the fighting is all about. Turf war, Cartel Wars or big distractions to help shipments through.


Iran: More money needed to fight drugs ... or else

"All these United States and British forces could stop poppy cultivation in Afghanistan if they wanted to," Maleki said.

well of course they could, but they havent and aint going to either. With the trade making 52% of Afghanistans economy the UN would never, ever, stop the trade and the drug cartels - their heavies - and the people who use the 'not on the books' money to fund covert operations will do anything to divert media attention, public consciousness and military focus away from this business. In addition, to stop the heroin trade full stop there will be major question marks placed on the historical use of customs, border security and drug control.

There is no co-incidence between the attacks on the afghanistan border, Iran talking of drug trade and the presence of US/UK troops in the area with Al-qaeda in the shadows followed by the Taleban.

If you like to get insight in "taliban" and related, I can recommend Ahmed Rashid's

"Taliban, Islam, Oil and the New Great Game in Central Asia",seventh print, 2001, Tauris Publishers, London/NY.

and

"Jihad, the rise of militant Islam in Central Asia" 2003, Yale University Press, London/New Haven.

salaam.

Are they good reads as well as factually correct? If so then i might wander down the library and see.