The United States has recently demanded of Pakistan to launch a military operation against the Taliban and Al-Qa’ida fighters based in the northern province of Waziristan, Pakistan’s The Nation reports.
American intelligence agencies provided the Pakistani army with satellite images of the border region, where local fighters are said to be initiating attacks against NATO and Afghani troops operating in southern Afghanistan.
Over the past three weeks, the Bush administration had increased its pressure on Pakistan for a military operation in the tribal area of north and south Waziristan, a diplomatic source told The Nation.
An agreement between the Pakistani government and the tribal leaders in the region was signed early September. The local tribal leaders agreed not to host the Taliban and Al-Qa’ida fighters in their region. The agreement did not manage however, to cease the cross-border infiltration of Islamist fighters.
The Taliban have accumulated much power in the southern region of Afghanistan in the past year. The central government of Pakistan is hardly in control of the southern border region, as terrorist attacks are mounting to unprecedented figures. Almost 4,000 people have been killed in Afghanistan during 2006.