Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
Mister Sinister
Give it a rest bhai. The News is owned by same people as Geo.
Mansooba....Saazish....Mossad, CIA, wagayra wagayra
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
Pakistan is not a Vietnam.
The analogy still stands...
Americans left Vietnam in 1973...for 2 years South Vietnam held on its on against North Vietnam
And then 1975, the North Vietnam launched its final offensive and South Vietnam fell in 3 months
South Vietnam had a 1,000,000 man army, 2,000 Planes, and yet due to utter incompetence of its generals and its army
It was defeated in less than 3 months
Same fate awaits Pakistan
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
Taliban extend hold, advance near Pakistan capital
By ZARAR KHAN, Associated Press Writer Zarar Khan, Associated Press Writer – 20 mins ago
ISLAMABAD – Taliban militants have extended their grip in northwestern Pakistan, pushing out from a valley where the government has agreed to impose Islamic law and patrolling villages as close as 60 miles from the capital.
Police and officials appear to have fled as armed militants also broadcast radio sermons and spread fear in Buner district, just 60 miles from Islamabad, officials and witnesses said Wednesday.
Pakistan's president signed off on the peace pact last week in hopes of calming Swat, where some two years of clashes between the Taliban and security forces have killed hundreds and displaced up to a third of the one-time tourist haven's 1.5 million residents.
Critics, including in Washington, have warned that the valley could become an officially sanctioned base for allies of al-Qaida — and that it may be just the first domino in nuclear-armed Pakistan to fall to the Taliban.
"The activities in the Swat do concern us. We're keeping an eye on it, and are working daily with the Pakistan military," Maj. Gen. Michael S. Tucker told Pentagon reporters in a 35-minute videoconference call from Afghanistan.
Supporters of the deal say it will allow the government to gradually reassert control by taking away the militants' rallying cry for Islamic law. Many residents are grateful that a semblance of peace has returned. A handful of officials are back in Swat.
The agreement covers Swat and other districts in the Malakand Division, an area of about 10,000 square miles near the Afghan border and the tribal areas where al-Qaida and the Taliban have strongholds.
The provincial government agreed to impose Islamic law in Malakand, and the Taliban agreed to a cease-fire that has largely held.
In recent days, the Swat militants have set their sights on Buner, a district just south of the valley, sparking at least one major clash with residents. The moves indicate the militants want to expand their presence beyond Swat to other parts of Malakand at the very least, under the guise of enforcing Islamic law.
Many in Buner are now too frightened to speak to reporters. However, a lawmaker from the area told The Associated Press that the militants had entered the district in "large numbers" and started setting up checkpoints at main roads and strategic positions.
"Local elders and clerics are negotiating with them to resolve this issue through talks," Istiqbal Khan said.
The militants in Buner also are using radio airwaves to broadcast sermons about Islam, and have occupied the homes of some prominent landowners, said a police official who insisted on anonymity because he was afraid of retaliation. He said the militants have also warned barbers to stop shaving men's beards and stores to stop selling music and movies.
The militants have established a major base in the village of Sultanwas and have set up positions in the nearby hills, the police official said. Militants also have taken over the shrine of a famed Sufi saint known as Pir Baba, he said.
The Taliban move into Buner left the Swat deal hanging from a thread, said Rasul Bakhsh Rais, professor of political science at Lahore University of Management Sciences.
"If the Taliban continue to expand in different directions and establish fiefdoms as they did in Swat, then probably the deal is not going to work and the government will be forced to scuttle that deal and go back to operations" by security forces, Rais said.
The provincial government's chief executive said authorities were prepared to use force if the Taliban didn't "pack up and go home" from Buner. But Haider Khan Hoti also pleaded for patience and rejected Western calls for a more aggressive approach.
U.S. missile attacks on militant targets in the northwest were undermining Pakistan's efforts to find a peaceful solution, he said.
"This is our country, we will have to look at our own priorities and our own interests," Hoti said. "We should not enter any friendship at the cost of our own destruction."
Since the provincial government agreed to the deal in February, Taliban fighters had adopted a lower profile and stopped openly displaying weapons in Swat as part of a cease-fire.
But on Tuesday, upon the radio-broadcast orders of Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah, the militants began roaming parts of the valley with rifles and other weapons. An AP reporter saw the patrols in Mingora, the valley's main city.
Residents from nearby towns in Swat said militants were setting up checkpoints on several roads. The residents requested anonymity out of fear for their lives.
Fazlullah ordered his fighters to withdraw again in a broadcast on Wednesday. He didn't explain why.
Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan could not be reached for comment.
Khan said recently that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and other militants aiming to oust the U.S. from Afghanistan would be welcome and protected in Swat — a statement the government condemned.
He also said the militants want to see all of Pakistan under Islamic law — a cry echoed by several other Islamist firebrands.
Rais, the professor, said there was concern that Islamists may have concluded from the Swat deal that authorities will cave in to violent demands for Islamic law elsewhere.
"They have natural allies in the religious political parties in other parts of the country. They have social and religious networks that have support their suicide attacks and attacks against the security forces," Rais said.
"It is about the identity of Pakistan and the future direction that Pakistan can take."
Associated Press writers Riaz Khan in Peshawar and Lara Jakes in Washington contributed to this report.
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
The analogy still stands...
Americans left Vietnam in 1973...for 2 years South Vietnam held on its on against North Vietnam
And then 1975, the North Vietnam launched its final offensive and South Vietnam fell in 3 months
South Vietnam had a 1,000,000 man army, 2,000 Planes, and yet due to utter incompetence of its generals and its army
It was defeated in less than 3 months
Same fate awaits Pakistan
Isn't it too much? Do you really think, Taliban's can defeat Pakistan security forces (if they are starting to right really really) ... :)
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
Yesterday National Public Radio (NPR) had a very good program about the present situation in Pakistan. There were few participants in it, some from Pakistan while others based here. Someone from them pointed out something very valid and important, that Pakistani govt and the public are not that much against Taliban cuz they are in a state of denial for the fact that Taliban are against the integrity of country or they may capture and in the end cause the disintegration of Pakistan. Most of the are even not taking Talibans as the enemy.
And I see here, this point is sooo true.
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
rumor mill going on saying Major military operation and declaration of emergency in swat planned should they cross the line further.
lets hope something done before its too late..
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
Isn't it too much? Do you really think, Taliban's can defeat Pakistan security forces (if they are starting to right really really) ... :)
the problem lies with the fact that Pakistani Army thinks it can still control these animals and funnel them into Kashmir to fight India and use them to take over Afghanistan once NATO/US leaves
What these idiots in the army don't understand that the Taliban have a new agenda which is the take over of Pakistan
Pretty soon all of Pakistan's countryside will be overrun by Taliban and only the cities and army bases in which the government has any control
A situation similar to South Vietnam in 1975
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
the problem lies with the fact that Pakistani Army thinks it can still control these animals and funnel them into Kashmir to fight India and use them to take over Afghanistan once NATO/US leaves
What these idiots in the army don't understand that the Taliban have a new agenda which is the take over of Pakistan
Pretty soon all of Pakistan's countryside will be overrun by Taliban and only the cities and army bases in which the government has any control
A situation similar to South Vietnam in 1975
issue with the army it seems is it was full backing and ownership of this as it can go bloody and no " or ands " in the evening on tv programs and it seems govt has achieved something even today JI chief has said if sufi calling democracy a kufr then he is a little kafir as well because he participated in union council elections also he shouldnt talk bigger than what he is.
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
Oh really, you could be an asset to Pak Army or if you don’t like Army, why don’t you get your AK47 with a bunch of other like you and rescue Swat then? Your thoughts and imagination are limited to Sindh only, you can’t even think of Pakistan as a whole.
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
Pakistan Swat Taliban Captured Four Army Officials on Charge of Entering their without seeking permission from them as decided in the Accord (The Nizam-e-Adl Accord).
Watch how helpless the Army Officials are in Talibans Custody. They hostage them since last two days and are waiting to Put them in their Qazi Court on charges of entering their territory.
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
^^ Pakistan is Asia's Somalia
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
^ Stop trolling.
Anyway, I think Pakistan government and the military should be on top of this. If Taliban violate the deal and try to do something stupid, Pakistan military should go all out and deal with them once in for all. Talibans have lost majority of the support and will lose a lot more if they break the deal. This should pave a way for an all out military assault.
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
Just tell me one thing everyone: How can these rifle-toting, illiterate self-styled experts in Islamic law and stone-age jokers really impart justice to the common man? The locals would obviously never complain partly out of fear of Taliban and partly because they are (whether we are willing to admit it or not) deeply conservative themselves and have adhered to a rigid religious and cultural code for centuries.
True we have seen less bloodshed since the deal but the problem is this: As we have seen already, these people won't just stop in Swat. They want to expand their brand of intolerant, deeply conservative Islam to all parts of Pakistan. All these extremist groups in Southern Punjab (lashkar-e-Jhangavi), Kashmir (LET) etc. they all share the same Taliban mentality and want to take us back to the stone age.
About time we call Taliban murderers rather than Islamists (I totally agree with chicken biryani on this...)
The government was wrong all along to give in to their demands (at the point of a gun) because you simply cannot allow a state within a state.
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
nice so if they are military they cant go into pakistani soil where these taleben idiots are in power? wow..and we will take this crap?
for gods sake politicians and military, stop pampering these morons. throw away your old playbook, these ppl cant be reasoned with, they are no longer the buddies of your former errand boys.
get rid of them.
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
^ Stop trolling.
Anyway, I think Pakistan government and the military should be on top of this. If Taliban violate the deal and try to do something stupid, Pakistan military should go all out and deal with them once in for all. Talibans have lost majority of the support and will lose a lot more if they break the deal. This should pave a way for an all out military assault.
They have already violated the deal
They said they will remove all weapons...but they are still b*****shing them
And now they are spreading into Buner
People like you need to wake up and smell reality
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
What should i say, .. what can i say.. why i am not died before watching this. This is so low.. this telecasted all over Pakistan.. OMG
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
Just tell me one thing everyone: How can these rifle-toting, illiterate self-styled experts in Islamic law and stone-age jokers really impart justice to the common man? The locals would obviously never complain partly out of fear of Taliban and partly because they are (whether we are willing to admit it or not) deeply conservative themselves and have adhered to a rigid religious and cultural code for centuries.
The only conservatism in locals is regarding women, otherwise they are open to singing, dancing, music and other activities.
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/us/politics/23clinton.html?ref=world
**Clinton Delivers Rebuke to Pakistan **
By DAVID STOUT
Published: April 22, 2009
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sharply rebuked the government of Pakistan on Wednesday, accusing the country’s leaders of surrendering large tracts of territory to the Taliban and saying that the country’s instability is a “mortal threat” to world peace.
“I think that the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists,” Mrs. Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee as she responded to questions on an array of topics.
The secretary’s words were striking, aimed as they were at a nation that Washington has described as a key ally in the international campaign against terrorism. Her remarks may have been aimed not just at Pakistan’s rulers but at American lawmakers reluctant to provide more money for a region that has been a trouble spot.
The Obama administration is seeking nearly $76 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as to bolster security in Pakistan. The porous border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been a spawning ground for Al Qaeda terrorists.
Mrs. Clinton spoke during an exchange with panel members about a recent agreement by the Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, under prodding from religious conservatives within his country, to allow the imposition of harsh Islamic law in the Swat Valley. That development that was seen by outside analysts as an admission that Islamabad was losing its grasp of some of its territory.
Moreover, Mrs. Clinton said, the deterioration of security in nuclear-armed Pakistan “poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world.”
After accusing the Pakistani government of caving in to the Taliban, Mrs. Clinton went on in more scathing detail. “If you talk to people in Pakistan, especially in the ungoverned territories, which are increasing in number, they don’t believe the state has a judiciary system that works,” she said.
“It’s corrupt, it doesn’t extend its power into the countryside. So the government of Pakistan, however it is constituted, which is of course their business, not ours, must begin to deliver government services.”
Otherwise Ms. Clinton warned, “they are going to lose out to those who show up and claim that they can solve people’s problems, and then they will impose this harsh form of oppression on women and others.”
Re: Buner falls to Swat Taliban
We are not even as manly a quam as the freaking Sri Lankans. They capture our soldiers and we just sit there. Our Army is spineless and our govt a joke.