Pak to go on offensive against Taliban?
8 March 2014 5:31 AM IST
Dashing chances of a peace deal with the Pakistani Taliban, gunmen burst into a courtroom in Islamabad on Monday, killing 11 people in a broad daylight attack in the heart of the heavily guarded capital. The Pakistani Taliban denied any role in the assault and a splinter group accepted responsibility.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Reuters in an interview that the government would not hesitate to bomb militant hideouts or send forces into the tribal areas if the Taliban did not abide by the ceasefire announced last weekend.
‘It will not take months now. We’ll have to march in the month of March,’ Asif said, describing the government’s response if insurgent attacks continued.
‘If there is a ceasefire, it has to be complete. Without that, we just can’t afford to have talks with the Taliban.’
Asif, long considered a pro-talks politician, is now one of a growing number of members of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet who believe it is time for tougher military action against Pakistani Taliban strongholds.
Sharif has been under pressure from the United States and hawks within the Pakistani army to send troops into North Waziristan, a tribal region along the Afghan border that is home to a complex web of Al Qaeda-linked militant groups.
Since 2007, the military has mounted a number of offensives against militant strongholds in the northwest, largely clearing several areas, including their bastion of South Waziristan.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Reuters in an interview that the government would not hesitate to bomb militant hideouts or send forces into the tribal areas if the Taliban did not abide by the ceasefire announced last weekend.
‘It will not take months now. We’ll have to march in the month of March,’ Asif said, describing the government’s response if insurgent attacks continued.
‘If there is a ceasefire, it has to be complete. Without that, we just can’t afford to have talks with the Taliban.’
Asif, long considered a pro-talks politician, is now one of a growing number of members of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet who believe it is time for tougher military action against Pakistani Taliban strongholds.
Sharif has been under pressure from the United States and hawks within the Pakistani army to send troops into North Waziristan, a tribal region along the Afghan border that is home to a complex web of Al Qaeda-linked militant groups.
Since 2007, the military has mounted a number of offensives against militant strongholds in the northwest, largely clearing several areas, including their bastion of South Waziristan.
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