This drama is getting into the Comedy zone now...
_____________________________________________________
Pakistan Taliban 're-enters' Buner
Taliban fighters set up checkpoints and occupied mosques in Buner [AFP]
Al Jazeera English - CENTRAL/S. ASIA - Pakistan Taliban 're-enters' Buner
Pakistani Taliban fighters are reportedly re-entering Buner, hours after they pulled back from the district just 100km away from the capital Islamabad.
Hoda Abdel Hamid, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from Pakistan, said there were reports of about 100 Taliban fighters heading back to Buner from the neighbouring Swat valley on Friday evening.
Earlier during the day, the Taliban had appeared to withdraw from the district, a day after its fighters clashed with regional forces, leaving one policemen dead.
"Our leader has ordered that Taliban should immediately be called back from Buner," Muslim Khan, a Pakistan Taliban spokesman, had said.
The group's move into Buner had alarmed the Pakistan government over what the Taliban's future intentions might be.
Army assurance
Meanwhile, General Ashfaq Kayani, Pakistan's army chief, has sought to dispel doubts that the country's armed forces were reluctant to take on the fighters.
In depth
The army "will not allow the militants to dictate terms to the government or impose their way of life on the civil society of Pakistan", he said in a statement after a meeting of high-level military commanders on Friday.
Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, ratified a deal in April to put Malakand - home to about three million people in northwest Pakistan, including the district of Buner - under sharia, or Islamic law, as part of efforts to end a Taliban revolt.
Critics who attacked the Swat deal on the grounds that the government "capitulation" would only embolden the Taliban, have said that the fighters' entry into Buner vindicates their fears.
Taliban presence
Hundreds of armed Taliban fighters had set up checkpoints and occupied mosques in Buner.
Some fighters in Buner reportedly moved into another nearby district, Shangla, on Thursday.
Our correspondent said the chief minister of the northwestern provinces held emergency talks with all the political parties on Friday.
"The meeting was around the fact that the Taliban had received what they wanted - the imposition of sharia [Islamic law] in Swat - but had not respected their part of the deal, which is laying down the weapons," she said.
At the end of the meeting, the political leaders reportedly issued a statement saying that military intervention was the only option since the Taliban had not respected their part of the peace deal.
The Pakistani Taliban, under the leadership of Maulana Fazlullah, launched a campaign nearly two years ago to enforce sharia in the Swat valley, beheading government officials, destroying girls' schools and forcing thousands of people to flee.
_____________________________________________________
Pakistan Taliban 're-enters' Buner
Taliban fighters set up checkpoints and occupied mosques in Buner [AFP]
Al Jazeera English - CENTRAL/S. ASIA - Pakistan Taliban 're-enters' Buner
Pakistani Taliban fighters are reportedly re-entering Buner, hours after they pulled back from the district just 100km away from the capital Islamabad.
Hoda Abdel Hamid, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from Pakistan, said there were reports of about 100 Taliban fighters heading back to Buner from the neighbouring Swat valley on Friday evening.
Earlier during the day, the Taliban had appeared to withdraw from the district, a day after its fighters clashed with regional forces, leaving one policemen dead.
"Our leader has ordered that Taliban should immediately be called back from Buner," Muslim Khan, a Pakistan Taliban spokesman, had said.
The group's move into Buner had alarmed the Pakistan government over what the Taliban's future intentions might be.
Army assurance
Meanwhile, General Ashfaq Kayani, Pakistan's army chief, has sought to dispel doubts that the country's armed forces were reluctant to take on the fighters.
In depth
The army "will not allow the militants to dictate terms to the government or impose their way of life on the civil society of Pakistan", he said in a statement after a meeting of high-level military commanders on Friday.
Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, ratified a deal in April to put Malakand - home to about three million people in northwest Pakistan, including the district of Buner - under sharia, or Islamic law, as part of efforts to end a Taliban revolt.
Critics who attacked the Swat deal on the grounds that the government "capitulation" would only embolden the Taliban, have said that the fighters' entry into Buner vindicates their fears.
Taliban presence
Hundreds of armed Taliban fighters had set up checkpoints and occupied mosques in Buner.
Some fighters in Buner reportedly moved into another nearby district, Shangla, on Thursday.
Our correspondent said the chief minister of the northwestern provinces held emergency talks with all the political parties on Friday.
"The meeting was around the fact that the Taliban had received what they wanted - the imposition of sharia [Islamic law] in Swat - but had not respected their part of the deal, which is laying down the weapons," she said.
At the end of the meeting, the political leaders reportedly issued a statement saying that military intervention was the only option since the Taliban had not respected their part of the peace deal.
The Pakistani Taliban, under the leadership of Maulana Fazlullah, launched a campaign nearly two years ago to enforce sharia in the Swat valley, beheading government officials, destroying girls' schools and forcing thousands of people to flee.
