PAKISTAN GOVERNMENT
STOPPED
AIR STRIKES AGAINST TALIBAN
in a balancing act, Pak
government matched the Taliban’s on month ceasefire with announcement to
suspend air strikes in the volatile tribal areas that have left more than 100
terrorists dead so far.
The announcement by the
government of Pakistan to ground its fighter jets comes a day after Taliban
announced they had decided not to carry out any activities for one month
following a positive response from the government, an appeal from religious
scholars in honour of the representative committee and in the greater interest
of Islam and Pakistan.
Taliban statement is as
like; (We announce a month long ceasefire from today and advise all our
companions and subgroups to respect the decision of government of Pakistan and
completely refrain from all jihad activities during this time period.)
Government of Pakistan considered
Taliban’s announcement of ceasefire as a positive development. After the
positive announcement by the Taliban the government of Pakistan has decided to
halt the air strikes against militants which were continuing for the past few
days. However it is also warned that government would effectively retaliate to
any act of violence by the Taliban. Government and the army reserve the right
to effectively respond to any act of violence.
As a result it is yet to
be seen how Taliban react to government’s announcement of hitting back in the
advent of any terrorist activity by the terrorists. Taliban groups opposed to
peace talks may also try to derail the process. Where Taliban needs to
effectively implement their ceasefire decision and ensure that none of its
affiliates or even the dissidents indulge in a terrorist activity, the civilian
leadership of the country will also have to join heads with the military leadership
to take them into confidence bring them on the same page and devise a plan to
make the peace initiative productive. The only thing is clear, the ceasefire
announcement between government of Pakistan and Pakistani Taliban ha at least
allowed the government to isolate and wipe out those opposed to the dialogue
process.
