No Peace Talks! « The Washington Independent
Jul 31, 2020147.2K Shares6.1M Views
After coming under attack from the Taliban, the Pakistani military is now recognizing there’s no more peace deal with them in the Swat valley, and is no longer just trying to drive Taliban forces back from Buner into Swat. But that’s not to say that every aspect of the deal is no longer in place. The Wall Street Journal reports:
“„Islamabad hasn’t officially said it scrapped the pact with the Taliban, which have refused to lay down their arms and last week declared the peace deal “worthless.” Instead, the government said it will continue to implement Islamic law, or Shariah, in the area. Officials say that by doing so the government will rob the militants of their main source of popular support, a campaign for rule of law.
But doesn’t this mean that Swat will have Pakistani law superceded? If that’s what it takes to retake Swat from the Taliban, perhaps it’s an acceptable price. In about an hour, Amb. Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, will deliver his first congressional testimony in his new capacity. I’ll be covering it, and will be listening for what he says about Swat in particular.
Dexter Cooke
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Dexter Cooke is an economist, marketing strategist, and orthopedic surgeon with over 20 years of experience crafting compelling narratives that resonate worldwide.
He holds a Journalism degree from Columbia University, an Economics background from Yale University, and a medical degree with a postdoctoral fellowship in orthopedic medicine from the Medical University of South Carolina.
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