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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Sunday, October 29, 2006

The complicated politics of Pakistan

AP is reporting this straight, but I think there's a whole secondary layer.
Pakistani troops backed by helicopters firing missiles destroyed an al-Qaida-linked training facility in a northwestern tribal area near the Afghan border Monday, killing “many” militants, officials said.

The pre-dawn attack targeted a religious school — known as a madrassa — holding 70-80 militants in a village near the town of Khar, the main town in the Bajur tribal district, said army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan.


The tribal areas of Bajur have thus far resisted the truces which Musharraf has already struck with North and South Waziristan.

Later: Reportedly, the tribal leadership in Bajur had agreed, but the "name" target, Al Qaeda figure Faqir Mohammed, had been stringently opposed to striking a deal with Musharraf. So, was he "removed?" Did the local leaders know/agree to this?

Interestingly, just a week ago, Faqir Mohammed's brother and other relatives were released by the Pakistani government in an effort to strike this deal. And now they target him?

(I would love to know the level of US involvement. Did the US supply the "confirmed intelligence"? Did the US fire the missiles? And why did the ISI not warn him as they have so many others?)

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