Suddenly, there is a surge of optimism in Pakistan. After months of severe criticism and pressure from the international community, President General Pervez Musharraf appears to have realized the need for his regime to reach out to the lawless rebel areas of his nation and claw out the militants from there.
The fact that the armed pro-al Qaeda militants in the notorious North-Western Frontier Province have agreed to a ceasefire has helped to usher in a new wave of optimism.
The Pakistan army launched a large scale attack on the far northwestern areas of the country on Sunday. The military operation was one of the first that the beleaguered Pakistani President has undertaken to remove the strain of immobility from his governance.
Cleric Maulana Fazlullah has had a stronghold over this region for quite some time to such a degree that he even has the audacity to maintain an illegal radio broadcast calling for a jihad in Pakistan.
The attack by the 2,5,00 paramilitary troops might not have been successful in terms of severely depleting Fazlullah’s control on the region but the ceasefire announced on Monday in the violent Swat Valley region in Pakistan’s north west certainly helps the Pakistan army gain some much needed boost and credentials.
International observers have consistently repeated that to stop the infiltration of Islamic clerics and jihadists in Pakistan, the country needs to strengthen its borders and reach out to the remote rebels areas near the mountains. President Musharraf had consistently failed to address the problem but now he appears to have changed his policy. The ceasefire certainly brings much needed peace for the Swat Valley’s residents and hope has been kept alive.
Image Source: Javno
Source: MSNBC
