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| Swat deal is over: Muslim Khan |
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Monday, May 04, 2009
By Mazhar Tufail
ISLAMABAD: The Swat peace pact stands dissolved and the militants present in Swat, Matta, Kabal and Sangla as well as their commanders have asked for permission to fight everywhere, sources told The News on Sunday.
“Our peace agreement with the NWFP government practically stands dissolved,” confirmed Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the Swat chapter of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while talking to The News via telephone. ìForces are attacking us and our fighters are also retaliating,î he said.
The TTP Swat spokesman vowed that their fighters would now attack security forces and the government figures everywhere. He said the rulers were obeying every directive of US President Barack Obama.
ìIf the Awami National Party supports us, we will not harm them. But if they sided with the government, they too will become our target. However, our main target will be security forces and the rulers of Pakistan. We will also act in other cities of Pakistan but will not target the general public,î the TTP spokesman said. To a question, the TTP spokesman ruled out the involvement of India and Afghanistan and said no outside elements were involved in the Swat unrest.
When asked about the dissolution of the Swat peace agreement, Spokesman for the Awami National Party Senator Zahid Khan said that they had signed the accord with TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad and not with the Swat Taliban. He said the Taliban had been violating the accord time and again.
When contacted, TNSM spokesman Ameer Izzat Khan said he did not know about the scrapping of the agreement but if the operation continued in the region, the situation would return to the one that prevailed before the pact. He claimed the general public in Swat was now opposed to the government.
Answering a question about the peace accordís scrapping, the TNSM spokesman said: ìWe do not know as to who is conducting the operation — the federal government or security forces — but we know that it is being launched to please the United States.î
Regarding the involvement of India and Afghanistan in the Swat imbroglio, the TNSM spokesman claimed the two countries had nothing to do with the unrest in the region. He said it was only a reaction to the government policies. He said neither they had amassed arms nor were they getting financial help from abroad. He said the people of Swat had been demanding the enforcement of the Islamic law in the area since 1989.
ìIf the prevailing situation persists, the government will lose control over the area and reaction to the government actions will also be witnessed in other cities of the country. In that situation, even the TNSM will be unable to control the situation,î Ameer Izzat Khan claimed.
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Three killed as Sh Rashid escapes attempt on life
By Shakeel Anjum
RAWALPINDI: Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief and a candidate for NA-55 (Rawalpindi) by-election Sheikh Rashid Ahmad was wounded, while three people — a guard and two party workers — were killed when four gunmen more |
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12 soldiers killed in South Waziristan
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Punjab-Sindh water row Centre’s intervention sought
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French, Dutch fight over giving LNG to Pakistan
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Nine killed as no let-up in rains
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Malik orders NUML closure as protest enters 5ht day
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Malik insists no Blackwater in Pakistan
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FBR gets list of properties rented out to foreigners
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Repealing of 17th Amendment
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Three suspects held in Mohmand
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No presence of Blackwater, DynCorp in Pakistan, NA body told
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Govt urged to take up water issue with India
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Avalanche kills 17 Indian soldiers in held Kashmir
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Taliban defiant as Afghans flee ahead of assault
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Plea to freeze foreign accounts
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Attack on Sh Rashid
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Indian forces to halt Kashmir rally outside UN office
HELD SRINAGAR: The held Kashmir authorities deployed thousands of police and troops on Monday to prevent a protest outside the UN office here over the recent killing of two teenage boys by Indian security force more |
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briefs...
20 die in Afghan floods, avalanches
KANDAHAR: Twenty people have died in floods and avalanches triggered by some of the heaviest rain and snow in Afghanistan for 50 years, an official said on Monday. At more |
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ISSN 1563-9479 
