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ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which won the
general elections on Feb. 18, is holding negotiations with other
relevant parties on the forming of a new government.
One question is attracting widespread attention:
What course will the new Pakistani government led by the PPP follow
in the US-led war on terror?
On Monday a suicide bombing killed Pakistani
army’s surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Mushtag Baig, the most senior
military official to be assassinated since Pakistan joined the
US-led “war on terror,” and seven others in Rawalpindi, near
Islamabad.
The suicide attack, also the most serious since
the general elections, once again brought the spotlight onto the
fight against terrorism in Pakistan, which has seen an increase in
suicide attacks in recent months.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Pakistan
has become an important partner of the United States in its “war
on terror.”
The United States hopes the new Pakistani
government will continue the current anti-terror policy pursued by
President Pervez Musharraf.
After the PPP’s win in the general elections,
the US administration has sent lobbyists to Pakistan, in an attempt
to persuade the new government to continue to cooperate with the
United States in its “war on terror.”
PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said that the
new government will further cooperate with the United States in
combating terrorism, while stressing that Pakistan is fighting its
own anti-terror war, not the war of the United States.
“We are fighting our own war on terror, rather
than the American war on terror,” the PPP co-chairman said.
The PPP also appealed to the Pakistani
government to halt military action in Balochistan province.
The United States believes northern Balochistan
is a shelter for al Qaida and Taliban militants and Pakistani
government forces have been carrying out large-scale military
actions against militants in the region.
The public has shown increasing dissatisfaction
with Pakistan’s cooperation with the United States in its war on
terror.
An opinion poll conducted by the International
Republican Institute in January revealed that, although 73 percent
of Pakistanis agree that religious extremism is a serious problem in
Pakistan, 89 percent said they were against Pakistan’s cooperation
with the United States in the war on terror, rising from 43 percent
in September 2006.
To many Pakistanis, the armed confrontation with
Islamic radicals remains “America’s war,” experts say.
They also say Pakistan’s role in US-led “war
on terror” was a significant factor for many people to vote
against President Pervez Musharraf, who is a key ally in
Washington’s “war on terror.”
There are also some who say a successful
strategy against the insurgents must also include elements other
than military force, such as more funding for education, job
training and social welfare.
The new movements of public opinion will have an
impact on the anti-terror policy of the new government led by the
PPP, analysts say.
The PPP has said the new government will reach
out to the people in northwestern tribal areas but ruled out
dialogue with extremists.
“Tehrik-e-Taliban,” an extremist
organization in Pakistan, whose leader Baitullah Mehsud is firmly
believed by Pakistani and U.S. officials to be the backstage
manipulator of the assassination of former PPP leader Benazir Bhutto,
has declared a willingness to engage in dialogue with the new
government to discuss ways to bring peace to the northwestern tribal
region.
More than 80,000 Pakistani soldiers have been
battling Islamic extremists in the region.
The organization also urged the incoming
government to abandon the anti-terror policy of President Musharraf,
threatening to launch more attacks if the new government continues
to pursue the current anti-terror policy.
In response, Zardari said the new
government led by the PPP will reach out to the people living in the
tribal areas in the northwest and bring “democracy and reforms”
to the region, but ruled out any talks between his government and
the al-Qaida-backed militants.
Analysts say support from the United
States will be indispensable for the PPP as the governing party,
which means the new government will continue to cooperate with
Washington in its war on terror.
However, the new government will not go
too far in its cooperation with the United States and keep
Musharraf’s steadfast anti-terror policy at a distance, analysts
say.
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