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US ‘reserves judgement’
Washington—The United States said Wednesday it would
“reserve judgement” on Pakistan’s peace deal with pro-Taliban
militants, and would monitor how effective it is in stopping
attacks.
“We’ll see. We’ll reserve judgement on these things,” State
Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters when asked about
the deal for Pakistan’s northwestern Swat Valley.
Success in fighting militancy involves not just security, but also
political and economic measures, he added. “What you have to do is
get the right mix of elements,” McCormack said. “What we don’t want
to see is any sort of effort that results in the violent extremists,
militants being able to use” the northwestern region “for the
purposes of planning and launching terrorist attacks,” McCormack
added.
The deal with Pakistan’s new government calls for the gradual
withdrawal of troops from the devastated former tourist region of
Swat and the imposition of Islamic Sharia law in line with the
rebels’ demands, provincial ministers said.
In return, the militants will close training camps, hand over
foreign fighters and halt suicide attacks on government
installations and security forces under the 15-point pact. The army
launched a major offensive in October to clear Swat of militants
loyal to Maulana Fazlullah, a radical pro-Taliban cleric who led an
uprising to enforce Sharia law in the valley.
US, NATO and Afghan officials have criticised previous peace deals
in Pakistan, saying that they have led to an increase in suicide
attacks on international and Afghan forces across the border in
Afghanistan. McCormack acknowledged problems with past agreements,
but hesitated to say they were similar.
The previous deals “have not resulted in a diminution in the
influence of those who are committed to the use of violence in those
regions,” McCormack said.—AFP
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