Reply #14: Pakistan vows to help....crush Taliban; US cool to Pakistan-Taliban deal [View All]

[ProSense]

Pakistan vows to help Kabul crush Taliban

By Sayed Salahuddin
20 minutes ago

KABUL (Reuters) - Pakistan, criticized by some Afghan leaders over cross-border infiltration by the Taliban, vowed on Wednesday to help its neighbor fight terrorism as Afghanistan battles its worst violence in five years.

After lengthy talks with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said he was committed to crushing the Taliban, their al Qaeda allies and "Talibanisation," a reference to the spread of hardline Islam.

"The best way to fight this common enemy is to join hands, trust each other and form a common strategy," he told reporters in Kabul, days before the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks that prompted the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.

The use of Pakistani territory by the Taliban, other militant groups and criminals has soured relations between the two countries. Rebels and criminals can freely cross the rugged mountainous frontier, barely controlled in parts.

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060906/wl_nm/afghan_dc_5

US cool to Pakistan-Taliban border deal

Wed Sep 6, 11:56 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States refused to endorse but did not criticize a peace deal between Pakistan and pro-Taliban Islamic militants in a restive tribal area bordering Afghanistan.

Pushed for a US response to the accord, which affects Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal belt, White House spokesman Tony Snow replied: "We've been apprised of it" and added that "it does not provide great concern."

Pakistan has assured the United States that "the cease-fire is, in fact, not going to diminish efforts to apprehend Osama bin Laden or bring him to justice," or open the border to Al-Qaeda terrorists, said Snow.

Afghanistan has expressed concerns about the arrangement, under which Islamabad agreed to reduce its military presence, while the militants agreed to disarm or expel foreign Al-Qaeda-linked fighters.

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060906/pl_afp/uspakistanafghanistan_060906155626

Renamed: war on logic