Special report: Pakistani Situation

    By Li Zhongfa

    ISLAMABAD, April 25 (Xinhua) -- A car bomb blast in northwestern Pakistan woke many from their dreams early Friday morning, reminding the people of real security threats despite reports of ongoing truce talks between the government and militants.

    The blast, killing at least three and injuring over 20, came just when the local Pakistani government was reportedly finalizing a peace accord with a most wanted militant head in this region.

    Baitullah Mehsud, leading the Pakistani Taliban Movement based in South Waziristan tribal agency, has called for truce with the government, local media reported, adding that Mehsud and local political administration is close to a draft deal.

    Mehsud is said to be involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in December in a gun and bomb attack.

    Under the proposed deal, pro-Taliban militants would order their fighters to stop using violence and stop sheltering or giving support to foreign Al-Qaeda fighters. In return, Pakistani government troops would be gradually withdrawn from the region.

    However, Rehman Malik, the adviser of Pakistan government for interior affairs said that "we welcome the statement from Baitullah Mehsud but the government has not formally received any formal offer from him."

    Almost at the same time, Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP on Monday freed top militant leader Maulana Sufi Muhammad.

    Sufi Muhammad, founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), organized thousands of people to fight against the western powers invading Afghanistan at the time of the downfall of the Taliban in 2001.

    Sufi Muhammad was arrested in late 2001 after he was returning from Afghanistan, and the TNSM was banned in 2002. The TNSM is an organization aimed at strictly enforcing Shariah, or Islamic law, in the country.

    "The release of Sufi Muhammad will help in containing violence," the NWFP spokesman Zahid Khan said.

    Sufi Muhmmad told reporters after his release from seven-year prison that he would renounce violence and peacefully campaign for Islamic law.

    But Sufi's successor and his son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah went another way.

    Fazlullah, who is now leading the TNSM, claimed that they would not lay down arms until the government would enforce Shariah law.

    Fazlullah and his supporters had been engaged in fierce battle with the security forces for control of Swat valley of the NWFP.

    PAKISTAN'S MULTI-PRONGED STRATEGY

    The new Pakistani government, since its formation in March, has pledged to adopt multi-dimensional measures to deal with the extremism and terrorism, including talks with the militants.

    "We are ready to hold talks with all those who lay down arms and adopt the path of peace," new Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani said in his first policy statement last month.

    After the coalition partners defeated the parties supporting President Pervez Musharraf, the new government has seen chances to finetune the anti-terrorism strategies in the volatile tribal regions, analysts say.

    The United States, an ally of Pakistan on fighting terrorism, is concerned about a possible peace agreement between the Pakistani government and Taliban militants along the border with Afghanistan.

    "We are concerned about it and what we encourage them to do is to continue to fight against the terrorists and to not disrupt any security or military operations that are ongoing in order to help prevent a safe haven for terrorists there," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters on Wednesday.

    The European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday expressed his support for Pakistan to hold talks with Taliban militants, but ruled out any negotiations with Al-Qaeda.

    Early this week, visiting British Foreign Secretary David Millib and struck the same note, saying that "we should negotiate with those who are willing to negotiate, and we should reconcile with those who are willing to reconcile."

    Whether a truce talks finally lead to permanent peace in Pakistan awaits further efforts, analysts say.

    Two years ago, when President Pervez Musharraf was still holding his military post, he also signed some peace agreements with the tribal militants. The pacts were scraped last July though.