Word: waziristan
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...Pakistan's most notorious militant leaders, Baitullah Mehsud, accused of being behind scores of deadly bombing attacks, has declared a cease-fire in the troubled Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan. Mehsud's declaration came as Pakistan's new government announced that it was close to a peace deal with tribal leaders there. "We will give the nation good news very soon regarding the peace initiative," Interior Affairs Adviser Rehman Malik told reporters on Thursday...
...what happens when an "irreconcilable" like Baitullah Mehsud declares a cease-fire? As head of the militant umbrella group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Mehsud has waged a devastating campaign in Waziristan against government forces for the past year. Now local journalists there report that he has circulated leaflets commanding his followers to halt attacks in preparation for peace talks. The move has been greeted with relief by the military, which has lost nearly 1000 troops to militant activity over the past several years. "Any cessation of hostilities is a welcome step," military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told...
...even if Mehsud can turn off attacks in Waziristan, there's no evidence he can control militants elsewhere in Pakistan. Today a car bomb at a police station in the town of Mardan in the northwest killed four and injured 30. Militants there say the blast was in revenge for the death of a rebel leader who was killed by police three weeks ago, but insist that the cease-fire is still in effect. "We abide by our announcement of a cease-fire. Today's attack was to level the score with police," Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar told...
...tribal wilds along the Afghan border is waging an increasingly coordinated insurgency threatening further destabilization on the eve of parliamentary elections. His forces have embarrassed the Pakistani military in recent weeks by attacking its forts, inflicting heavy losses and seizing weapons before retreating into the mountains of South Waziristan, Mehsud's home turf...
...what appears to be a coordinated effort, the attacks on the forts in South Waziristan came at the same time as the electrical grid and another fort in neighboring North Waziristan came under attack. The upsurge of attacks in an area that has been relatively calm of late rings alarm bells for terrorism analyst Muhammad Amir Rana, director of the Pakistan Institute For Peace Studies. "We are seeing this now, simultaneous attacks from different regions. This is a strong indication that different groups are working together. They are coordinating attacks, sharing the same objective...