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A setback to Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: The sudden decision by a prominent North Waziristan Taliban leader to break off from a 15-month peace agreement with the government is being seen as a setback to the Pakistan Army’s proposed operations in adjoining South Waziristan against Beithullah Mehsud, the country’s number one Taliban commander.

Hafiz Gul Bahadur made the announcement trashing the February 2008 peace agreement on Monday though the reasons are not completely clear yet.

The first indication that the peace agreement was in trouble came on Sunday, when Gul Bahadur’s militants, seen until now as “good Taliban” by the Pakistan military and civilian establishment, carried out a shock ambush on a military convoy in North Waziristan near Datakhel, killing as many as 27 soldiers.

The dead soldiers are reported to include a colonel, captain and a lieutenant. Gul Bahadur is said to have pressed as many as 600 militants into the attack.

Gul Bahadur’s spokesman Ahmedi, who called several media outlets on Monday to announce the withdrawal from the peace agreement, said the decision had been taken by a Taliban shura or council in North Waziristan in protest against the U.S. drone attacks in the tribal area. He is reported to have claimed that North Waziristan had been targeted by drones more than 50 times since the peace deal was signed.

A 40-member peace committee, usually tribal elders appointed by the government, is said to have reasoned with him that there had been no drone attacks in North Waziristan in the last two months.

Gul Bahadur is then reported to have demanded an end to military operations against Beithullah Mehsud and the drone attacks in South Waziristan. He was reportedly told the peace agreement was restricted to the North Waziristan area, they could not make South Waziristan-related demands of the government.

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