Peace deal under fire in Pakistan
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 05, 2009 00:00
PES HAWAR, Pakistan - Deadly fighting raged between Pakistani soldiers and militants in the northwest yesterday, sparking Taliban threats of fierce resistance ahead of the Pakistani president's trip this week to Washington for talks with President Barack Obama.
Clashes in a northwestern region covered by an increasingly fragile peace pact killed at least seven militants and four soldiers, army said, adding to strains on an agreement seen in the West as a capitulation to extremists. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
"We vow to carry out similar attacks in future if security forces try to enter Swat," Taliban spokesman told Agence France-Presse. Analysts said the shaky three-month-old peace deal - establishing Islamic law, or Shariah, courts in a northwest region home to three million in the hope that the Taliban would stop fighting and disarm - was now hanging by a thread.
"We vow to carry out similar attacks in future if security forces try to enter Swat," Taliban spokesman told Agence France-Presse. Analysts said the shaky three-month-old peace deal - establishing Islamic law, or Shariah, courts in a northwest region home to three million in the hope that the Taliban would stop fighting and disarm - was now hanging by a thread.