Pakistan-Taliban deal alarms allies

[unhappycamper]

Pakistan-Taliban deal alarms allies
By Barry Schweid - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Feb 18, 2009 16:59:52 EST

WASHINGTON — Pakistan’s startling accord with Taliban fighters that would impose Islamic religious law on the strategic Swat Valley looms as a setback for the Obama administration’s hopes to mount a united front against militants there and in Afghanistan.

The agreement between Pakistan’s government and the growing Taliban forces in the country’s northwest region cemented a truce between the two sides and gave the insurgents dominance in the Swat region by installing a strict regimen of Islamic law amenable to the militants’ authority. The pact was spearheaded by a hard-line cleric sent to the region to negotiate with the Taliban and persuade them to give up their arms.

“It is definitely a step backwards,” said James F. Dobbins, the Bush administration’s first envoy for Afghanistan. “The Pakistanis have to take a stronger line with extremists in the region.”

The war against Taliban rule in Afghanistan seemed won seven years ago. But the Taliban is gaining ground there, U.S. and NATO forces have been unable to reverse the gains, and the outlook appears increasingly bleak.

“We are very concerned about Pakistan and stability,” U.S. special envoy Richard C. Holbrooke said last weekend on a trip to the area.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/02/ap_pakistan_taliban_01809/%2e