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Mehsud declares ceasefire

ISLAMABAD: In fast-moving developments in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, a Taliban militant commander once described by President Pervez Musharraf as the mastermind of most suicide blasts and terror attacks in the country has declared a ceasefire ahead of a possible peace agreement with the government.

In leaflets distributed in Waziristan on Wednesday night, the Al-Qaeda-linked Beithullah Mehsud, who leads a federation of militant groups called Tehreek-e-Taliban, ordered his followers to halt all attacks, threatening to hang violators in public. The truce comes at a time when the government is said to be close to signing an agreement with the Mehsud tribe.

The new government in Pakistan has said it plans to end militancy through negotiations. Earlier this week, the NWFP government released Maulana Sufi Mohammed, the top leader of the banned Tehreek Nifas Shariat-e-Muhammadi, signing an agreement with him for the restoration of peace in the Swat region of the province.

In remarks quoted by the Dawn, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher appeared to endorse the new government’s plan to negotiate with militants, and said Pakistan had consulted Washington “a little bit” on this.

Mehsud has also been accused of masterminding Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. Pakistani officials have been at pains to emphasise they are negotiating not with the militant leader but with Mehsud tribal elders.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday it was the government’s intention to talk only to those who were prepared to renounce violence. “Elements involved in violent acts and militancy, there are no negotiations with them,” said Mohammed Sadiq adding that while military action alone could not be effective in fighting militancy, the government retained the right to use it if required. He declined to comment on the ceasefire call by Mehsud, but government officials in the NWFP and a spokesman for the militant leader confirmed the authenticity of the leaflets.

In the capital, Rehman Malik, de facto Interior Minister, said the announcement was a positive step. “If he’s said it, we welcome it. We should welcome any good step,” he told journalists. Asked about Mehsud’s alleged involvement in Benazir’s assassination, Mr. Malik said the tribal leader had denied involvement in the killing.

Mehsud’s spokesman, Maulvi Omar, claimed to media organisations that the army had withdrawn from Waziristan, but the military spokesman denied this.

The Dawn said a peace agreement with the warring Mehsud tribes had been virtually finalised, after discussions between the new leadership in the NWFP and the government in Islamabad. The 15-point draft agreement also had the military’s backing, it said.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Mehsuds will halt all attacks on security forces, government officials and property and will not challenge the writ of the government.

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