Taliban scraps peace accord in North Waziristan

October 13th, 2009 PESHAWAR - Before launching a full-scale military operation in South Waziristan, the Pakistan Government has initiated back-channel negotiations with Taliban commanders in North Waziristan in order to isolate insurgents of the Baitullah group. As part of the initiative, a jirga comprising more than 20 tribal elders arrived in Peshawar for talks with civilian and military leadership, The Dawn reports.

September 22nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has reportedly killed 45 security personnel in Waziristan, while 34 extremists have been killed across the region in the last 24 hours. According to a television report, helicopter gunships pounded military hideouts in South Waziristan killing at least 26 Taliban fighters besides injuring many others.

September 22nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - At least 34 suspected militants have died in clashes in Pakistan's South and North Waziristan while the Taliban claim to have killed 45 security personnel, media reports said Tuesday. Gunship helicopters pounded militant hideouts in South Waziristan, killing at least 26 suspected militants while injuring several others, Dawn reported Tuesday.

August 23rd, 2009 MIRAMSHAH - The Taliban has declared a unilateral ceasefire in North Waziristan during the fasting month of Ramazan. Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur's spokesmnan, Ahmadullah Ahmadi, called local journalists from an undisclosed location and said the outfit has decided to shun its operations for the next 40 days.The Taliban will not attack security forces during this period," Ahmadi said.

July 23rd, 2009 RAWALPINDI - The Pakistan Army has killed at least 27 Taliban fighters in various districts of the Malakand division in the last 24 hours. According to an ISPR statement, fighter jets pounded Taliban hideouts in South Waziristan killing six close aides of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud.

July 3rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Ahmadzai Wazir tribe has decided that it would abide by the peace accord inked with the government in 2007, and would not attack the troops stationed in South Waziristan. The decision was taken during a 'jirga' in Wana, where about 120 tribal elders met the Political Agent of the region, Syed Shahab Ali Shah.

July 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Pakistan Army is planning an offensive against the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud in his stronghold South Waziristan, but it seems that it is unaware of the massive threat that the region has in store. The military will have to face a formidable army of extremists if Mehsud join hands with the militant commanders of North Waziristan, The Christian Science Monitor reported an analysis in the Long War Journal, as saying.

June 30th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Taliban has declared an end to the peace deal it signed with the Pakistani government last year due to the ongoing military operation in northwest Pakistan. The Taliban made the announcement Monday after a meeting of the group's local shura (council) in North Waziristan, the website of the Dawn newspaper said.

June 30th, 2009 Pakistan militants abandon peace dealMIR ALI, Pakistan — Taliban militants in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan say they're scrapping a peace deal with the government. The decision by insurgents in North Waziristan raises the prospect of wider unrest now that the army is stepping up offensives against the Taliban.

June 21st, 2009 PESHAWAR - As the Pakistan Army intensified its offensive against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan, some highly placed sources have revealed that the warlord along with his top commander, Maulana Fazalullah, has shifted base to Mirali region of North Waziristan. According to sources, Mehsud and Fazalullah both were hiding in South Waziristan, but sneaked into North Waziristan soon after the government announced an all out operation against them.

May 9th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Stung by a military operation launched against the Taliban in Pakistan's troubled northwest, the militants Saturday threatened to kill President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. 'We will eliminate not just them but also their families,' a Taliban commander in Swat was quoted as saying.

May 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The residents of Swat in Pakistan's troubled northwest were Tuesday asked to move to safer areas as the Pakistani military seemed to be opening a third front against the Taliban, which violated a controversial peace accord in the area. Swat's district coordination officer (DCO) Monday ordered the residents of Qamber, Raheemabad, Aman Kot, Makan Bagh towns to evacuate to safer places, Geo TV reported.

May 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Tuesday approved the immediate grant of Rs.500 million for providing relief to thousands of people displaced by the activities of the Taliban and Al Qaeda along the border with Afghanistan and by the ongoing military operations against the militants in the restive northwest. On the request of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government, Gilani also approved a supplementary grant of Rs.8 million for arranging food items on emergency basis for the internally displaced persons (IDPs), APP news agency reported.

April 29th, 2009 LAHORE - Infuriated by the military operation against the Taliban in which 70 extremists have been killed so far, the Tehreek-e-Nifaaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) has warned of launching a 'storm' across Pakistan. TNSM chief Sufi Mohammad's son Rizwanullah Farooq said the peace accord between the government and the TNSM is on the verge of collapse, and if that happens, the whole country would have to bear the consequences.

February 21st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Friday defended an accord imposing Shariat laws in Swat and parts of its troubled northeast, saying it was linked to restoring peace in an area that is largely controlled by the Taliban. 'Establishing peace, security and stability are matters of highest priority for Pakistan government and it will use all necessary means to achieve these objectives,' Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit said at his weekly media briefing.