Pak Taliban forces NWFP Government to accept their demands

Peshawar, June 27 : The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has brought the NWFP Government to its knees with its relentless attacks over the past four days.

The government has been forced to do away with security check-points, release all Taliban prisoners over the next few days and also ensure an early compensation to victims of military operations.

However, the NWFP Government also flatly refused to withdraw the army forthwith, The News reported.

The government held fresh talks with the Taliban in Peshawar to revive the ceasefire and save the peace accord aimed at restoring peace to the picturesque Swat Valley.

NWFP Minister Bashir Bilour, peace envoy of Chief Minister Afrasiyab Khattak and Minister for Environment Wajid Ali Khan represented the government side.

The spokesman for the Swat Taliban, Muslim Khan, Mehmood Khan and Ali Bakht represented the Taliban.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Swat chapter, operating under the command of defiant cleric Maulana Fazlullah called off talks on June 17 over the alleged delay in the release of Taliban prisoners during a Shura meeting chaired by Fazlullah.

Both sides had announced a ceasefire on May 9, when they met for the first time at the Fishing Hut, a government rest house situated on the bank of the Swat River in Chakdara.

In the third round of talks held on May 21 in Peshawar, they reached an agreement and formed a committee, but that made no headway to implement the peace deal.

The negotiating sides on Thursday agreed to maintain the ceasefire and take steps to implement the deal.

After talks, Bashir Bilour said a committee would meet in the next two days to identify security check-points to be abolished. About the prisoners' release, the minister said they would try to release the prisoners on bail as soon as possible, but refused to give any deadline.

Claiming responsibility for attacks on the Army and police, Muslim Khan told a group of newsmen that the government had promised abolition of check-points, but their number increased instead and more troops had been deployed.

"If the Army targets the Taliban on mountain tops, then we have the right to defend ourselves," he said, denying any hand in torching of schools and other buildings in the ongoing violence.

In the four-day violence, two personnel of security forces, three Taliban, including two commanders and five civilians were killed besides injuries to 10 other security personnel.

ANI