Word: swatting
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...First, the Taliban in the Swat Valley announced an indefinite cease-fire, but only after the army had agreed to halt its counterinsurgency operations and the government caved in to the militants' demand for the imposition of Islamic law. Then it emerged that the Taliban and the army would both be observing a four-day truce in Bajaur, the tribal area along the Afghan border that has seen the fiercest fighting in Pakistan's domestic campaign against extremists. And on a more ominous note, last weekend at an undisclosed location deep in Waziristan's mountains, Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud...
...recent events have caused concern among Pakistan's Western allies, who hope to see a tougher government crackdown on militancy - and, at least in Swat, have emboldened the militants, who believe they have prevailed over the government's effort to militarily dislodge them...
...Pakistan's domestic militants have faced a four-pronged assault since last summer, with counterinsurgency campaigns by Pakistani troops in Swat, Bajaur and the town of Dara Adam Khel - home to a notorious militant arms industry - along with stepped-up CIA-directed missile strikes from pilotless drone aircraft. The seriousness of the Pakistani effort was underlined by the scores of casualties suffered by the military, particularly in Bajaur. The military believes it has the Taliban on the ropes in Bajaur and says the truce there is simply to give Taliban members an opportunity to surrender their weapons. The cease-fire...
...implementation of Shari'a law is not bad news to many who believe it will be adopted in its moderate form. Karachi native Jamal Panhwal used to work in Pakistan's now shrinking tourism industry and until 2007, guided hundreds of walking tours through Swat. Says he: "I am quite confident the people causing trouble are not from Swat. The natives of this community are the most progressive Pathans. If law is in the control of the local people of Swat, then everything will be fine...
...commentator says. "But with a growing presence of the Taliban in the south, he was playing a role in stopping their spread. Now there is a vacuum. The government is also sending a wrong message. On the one hand, it is negotiating a deal with the Taliban in Swat, and on the other, it is pushing democrats out of the political system...