(Photo from Jamestown)Pakistan & Taliban Have Deep Connections
-- Defense Technology News
-- Defense Technology News
(NSI News Source Info) October 24, 2008: In Pakistan, the army continues to battle Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in the Bajaur and Swat valleys. In the third Taliban stronghold, North Waziristan, the Taliban are keeping their heads down, noting the beating their fellow radicals are taking elsewhere. The Waziristan Taliban are maintaining the peace deal signed with the government earlier this year, despite continued American missile attacks (Hellfires fired from Predator and Reaper UAVs). The Taliban are, however, suspected of kidnapping prominent people in Waziristan, including a prominent doctor. This caused the government to shut down all the clinics in North Waziristan, until the doctor was released.
Pakistan has persuaded some of the tribes in pro-Taliban areas to switch sides. This is often not too difficult, as the tribes along the border spend more time fighting each other than in going after outsiders. The U.S. is providing money and weapons for these pro-government tribes, as well as tribesmen who join the Frontier Corps (the locally recruited security force that watches the Afghan border.) The Pakistani government has also declared that all illegal foreigners (Islamic radicals) will be expelled from the border areas.
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My Comment: A good summary on why the two groups work together.