Rulers have never shown any seriousness in the elimination of terrorism; they have just been using this name for keeping themselves in power. It may be President Bush or President Musharraf - they are all the same. They have hoodwinked the masses on this name, terrorisim, for too long. They have been promoting terrorism in order to keep the people terrorized.
According to one report: The NWFP cabinet with Caretaker Chief Minister Shamsul Mulk in the chair on Thursday discussed the law and order situation in Swat district and decided to restore public order in the area through negotiations. The cabinet members decided that use of force would be avoided as per the proposals and suggestions of the peace jirga. Caretaker ministers Mohammad Ali Shah, Azam Khan, Bakht Baidar and Shahzada Gastasip, Federal Minister Ameer Muqam, NWFP Chief Secretary Sahibzada Riaz Noor, Home Secretary Badshah Gul Wazir and NWFP IG Sharif Virk attended. The ministers proposed that the CM should hold talks with all political and apolitical forces in Swat to bring peace to the area.
On the other hand, At least 20 people including 18 troops died and 35 others were injured in a blast aimed at a vehicle carrying Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel in the troubled Swat district on Thursday, police said.
The blast took place at Nawan Killi, about a kilometre from Swat city, Mingora, at around 2:45 pm. It set off an explosion of ammunition carried inside the military truck, triggering bullet fire.
NWFP Home Minister Shazada Gustasap said it was not clear whether it was a suicide attack. “Investigations are underway and will find those behind the attack on the military convoy,” he said.
He said the government was trying to avoid a military operation in the district, but would launch one if necessary.
30 killed: Swat Nazim Fazlur Rehman told that 30 people had died in the blast. An injured FC soldier, Naeem Khan, said that he could not say whether it was a suicide attack or a planted bomb.
“The nature of the blast is not clear and it is being ascertained. There was ammunition in the truck which caused the damage,” Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Cheema told.
‘Fazlullah not involved’: A close aide of Maulana Fazlullah, a powerful rebel cleric who advocates jihad and Taliban-style rule in the region, told Daily Times by phone that the cleric’s supporters were not behind the blast.
“We have nothing to do with the blast and our talks with the chief minister are continuing. The blast is the planning of those who want to destroy the law and order situation in Swat,” said Maulana Shah Dauran.
The blast also damaged 25 shops, a service station, a CNG station and a petrol pump. Nearly 20 injured people were rushed to the Saidu Teaching Hospital and three seriously troops were airlifted to Peshawar or Islamabad.
All markets and bazaars were closed after the blast and police sealed the exit and entry points of the city.
The army announced on Wednesday that it was sending in 2,500 additional troops to Swat to maintain law and order. Fazlullah warned in a speech the same day that his supporters would retaliate if security forces attacked them.
According to a newspaper comment, after having admitted that Maulana Fazlullah had wrested the writ of the state in 59 villages and was about to appoint a governor for the whole of Swat, the interim caretaker government of the NWFP has sent in more than 2,000 paramilitary troops and police into the valley. The declared intent of the operation is that, far from being on a military operation to recapture state writ over its territory, the armed men have been sent for the security of the people and that the intent of the government is to reach a solution through “negotiation”.
In a press conference in Peshawar, the NWFP Home Secretary, Mr Badshah Gul Wazir, was more confident of tone than the clerical government of the JUI earlier that allowed a horse-riding outlaw-maulana named Fazlullah to become the “caliph” of a parallel government. In fact, the provincial government allowed the maulana a free hand till his power of intimidation was irresistible for the relatively modern society of a Tribal Area administered by the province as opposed to other Tribal Areas administered by the federal government.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
