Western officials hold that a branch point has been reached in the fight opposite the Taleban, with a array of breakthroughs suggesting that the insurgents are on the behind feet for the initial time given their resurgence 4 years ago.
While undisguised feat stays remote, there have been a little enlivening developments in the past 3 weeks. First came reports of the genocide of Hakimullah Mehsud, the Pakistani Taleban leader, in a CIA worker set upon in northwestern Pakistan. Then there was the launch of Operation Moshtarak, the greatest attack on the Afghan Taleban given the US-led advance of Afghanistan in 2001.
After that came Indias preference to resume approach negotiations with Pakistan, dangling after the attacks on Mumbai in Nov 2008, and to press forward with that plan even after a bombing in the horse opera city of Poona. This week it emerged that Afghan Taleban member had hold tip assent talks with the Afghan Government in the Maldives.
At the same time came headlines that Pakistan had arrested Mullah Baradar, the Afghan Talebans second-in-command, along with five alternative Taleban and al-Qaeda figures.
Related LinksAfghan infantry make firm bloc in MarjahUS hails constraint of Taleban infantry commanderPakistan captures Taleban chiefsPakistani officials reliable yesterday that the hermit of Sirajuddin Haqqani a belligerent personality with links to al-Qaeda was killed in an additional CIA worker strike. Weve done some-more swell in the last month than in the last year, one Western central in the segment told The Times.
Some of this was assumingly down to luck. The ultimate reports indicate that Pakistani agents had not approaching to constraint Mullah Baradar when they raided a residence in Karachi.
Taken together, it suggests that the US is reaping rewards from the new AfPak strategy.
Most importantly, Pakistan seems to be reviewing the process of targeting militants that it considers dangerous, whilst sheltering Afghan Taleban leaders as proxies opposite Indian change in Afghanistan. Ashfaq Kayani, the Pakistani armed forces chief, indicated as most when he pronounced not long ago that there was no some-more eminence in in between great and bad Taleban. They are all the same. Security sources pronounced that Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence group had been purged of hawks who lucky progressing links with the Taleban.
Richard Holbrooke, the US attach� to Pakistan and Afghanistan, concurred Pakistans process change this week on his eighth revisit to the nation in twelve months.
The key subject is what has encouraged Pakistan. One cause is US pressure, with Mr Holbrooke charity billions of dollars in aid, even as the CIA increasing worker strikes on militants that Pakistan refused to target. Another was the Talebans debate inside of Pakistan, that has claimed some-more than 3,000 lives in the past year.
Then came President Obamas preference to begin withdrawing infantry from Afghanistan subsequent year, and to try negotiations with a little Taleban. The net outcome has been that Pakistan is reassessing the ties with the Taleban, with a perspective to solution the own security problems, whilst progressing the change in Afghanistan.
Several analysts referred to that Pakistan longed for to make use of Mullah Baradar to attorney tip assent talks and to illustrate equivocate being released from a understanding in in between the Taleban and the Afghan Government. That speculation gained faith yesterday when the Pakistani Interior Minister pronounced that Taleban leaders would not be handed to the US and could be sent behind to Afghanistan.
Hilary Synott, former British High Commissioner to Pakistan, said: This is some-more than a run of fitness but not utterly a Pakistani reassessment of strategy. Things are going the Pakistanis way
