The agreement was signed after a meeting between a group of local Taliban leaders and a jirga formed by the Pak military.
LAHORE: The September 5 peace agreement signed between the Pakistan Army and Taliban leaders in the North Waziristan Agency on the Pak-Afghan tribal belt to bring peace to the trouble-stricken region seems to be in jeopardy following the Saturday killing of an elderly tribal man on charges of spying for Americans in the area.
The agreement was signed after a meeting between a group of local Taliban leaders and a jirga formed by the Pakistani military authorities to mediate on their behalf. However, only five days after the accord was signed in Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan, the security forces found the bullet-riddled body of 63-year-old Rahim Jan near a Preaching Centre on the outskirts of Miranshah. A note found on the body said the white-bearded man who hails from Ederkhel Tribe of Teshil Mir Ali confessed to spying for Americans during interrogations, and anyone doing such a thing will face the same fate.
The note did not specify when Rahim Jan had been captured by the militants. The letter further claimed that a CD carrying images of the man confessing that he was an American spy would be released in a few days. This is the first target killing in North Waziristan since the government and militants struck a peace deal on Tuesday. Under the deal, local militants or Taliban had agreed to stop target killings in the tribal area.
Although the General Musharraf said that the peace deal was aimed at ending cross-border insurgent attacks from Pakistan into Afghanistan, many predict that it will have the contrary effect by creating Taliban and Al-Qaeda refuges. The diplomatic circles in Islamabad say that the peace deal, instead of showcasing General Musharraf’s commitment to eliminate pro-Taliban elements, has given an impression that his support of Al-Qaeda-backed Taliban militants remains as strong as it did five years ago.
Sources in diplomatic circles said that as things stand, the military strategy of Pakistan Army in Waziristan keeps swinging like a pendulum from one extreme to another — from the use of brute military force against Taliban militants to a total surrender by signing another peace agreement with those who were being described as terrorists in the recent past.
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