Taliban Militants March To Pakistan Capital

[Greg]

Taliban militants stay in control near Pakistan capital
A few hundred paramilitary troops are sent to an infiltrated area 60 miles from Islamabad as foreign leaders call on the government to confront the growing threat.

By Mark Magnier and Mubashir Zaidi
3:45 PM PDT, April 23, 2009
Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan, and New Delhi --

Emboldened militants made their presence felt closer to Islamabad on Thursday, raising fears throughout Pakistan and around the world that the capital and the nation were increasingly vulnerable.

The deteriorating situation prompted calls from foreign leaders and Pakistan-based diplomats urging the government to counter the growing threat.

Taliban control In Pakistan, fighting terrorists the...Hillary Clinton warns of 'existential threat' in Pakistan
Militant Pakistani cleric out on bail remains defiant

North-West Frontier Province dispatched a few hundred paramilitary forces Thursday to the district of Buner, about 60 miles from Islamabad, after Taliban forces took control of much of the area this week.

Most of the troops were believed to have remained inside government buildings without engaging the militants, although there were unconfirmed reports of one policeman dying in a gunfight.

Taliban fighters from the nearby Swat Valley have infiltrated the area in recent days, emboldened by a government-sanctioned peace deal allowing them to enforce Sharia, or Islamic law, in the valley, a onetime tourist paradise.

Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gillani told reporters in Islamabad on Thursday that the government would see to it that the peace agreement isn't violated. "The government will not allow anyone to challenge the government," he said in a statement.

But in Buner, the Taliban remained largely in control despite the stepped-up paramilitary presence.

"We will not leave the area," a Taliban commander, Mufti Bashir, told local journalists.

Since entering Buner from Swat, the Taliban has reportedly set up checkpoints, begun patrolling roads and ordered barbershops to stop shaving beards, which are favored by Islamic militants. The moves have prompted some residents to flee.

After Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told lawmakers in Washington on Wednesday that the Pakistani government was "basically abdicating to the Taliban and the extremists," Islamabad has seen a flurry of diplomatic activity.

On Thursday, Richard C. Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, telephoned Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. A vague statement issued a few hours later said only that the two had discussed security issues and Zardari's upcoming trip to the United States.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Prime Minister Gillani to express her concern. And Western diplomats met with Pakistani lawmakers throughout the day to assess the government's likely response to the threat.

Supporters of the Swat deal, hammered out in February and signed into law by Zardari last week, had contended it would secure peace and even divide militant factions. But any breathing room or disunity was apparently short-lived, if it ever existed.

The militants are "very organized," said Ahmed Rashid, author of "Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia." "They're a faction of the main Taliban and they're spreading out from Swat to different valleys.". . .

http://www.latimes.com/news....?page=1