US sending mixed signals to new govt over talks with militants

White House spokesman says important that any agreement be enforced effectively and not ‘interrupt operations where we are going after terrorists in that area’ Daily Times Monitor LAHORE: George W Bush’s administration is sending mixed signals to the new government over its talks with militants, troubled by the failure of past deals but reluctant to publicly criticise its key ally in the war on terror, a report in the Washington Times said on Friday. “We’re watching closely,” the US daily quoted a State Department official as saying on Thursday. “The Pakistani government has been negotiating with tribes for years and years. It’s a tactic they’ve used in the continuing struggle to get a more secure [border].” The official, pleading anonymity, said: “The bottom line for us is that we need to see more results. Any agreement must be enforced.” His remark came amid a week of violence on both sides of the border: a suicide attack in the Khyber Agency in Pakistan which left 30 injured, and an assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan earlier this week. Afghan officials said on Thursday that the attack on Karzai was probably carried out by Al Qaeda-related militants from Pakistan’s tribal belt. Pakistan has suffered much violence in the same tribal region. More than 1,000 Pakistanis were killed during military operations in the Tribal Areas under the former government of President Pervez Musharraf. In Islamabad, the new coalition government led by the party of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto is seeking a negotiated agreement with militants. “We believe that military action alone will not be effective in permanently ending the phenomenon of terrorism,” the Washington Times quoted a Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman as having told reporters in Islamabad recently. On Wednesday, the State Department released a harsh assessment of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism activities as part of its annual report on terrorism, the US newspaper reported. “The trend and sophistication of suicide bombings grew in Pakistan this year,” it said, noting that deadly attacks nearly doubled to 45 in 2007. The Bush administration was critical of a 2006 ceasefire in the Tribal Areas, which it says gave militants time to rearm and launch new attacks in Afghanistan. Enforce, don’t interrupt: “Obviously, this was something that was tried before. It did not work before,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said on Wednesday. “It’s important that any agreement be effectively enforced and that it not interrupt operations where we are going after terrorists in that area.” US officials concede that there is little they can do to influence Islamabad’s dealings with extremists, as Pakistan is a sovereign nation dealing with internal issues. And while the Bush administration was originally alarmed by the prospect of a ceasefire with the border extremists, it has lately sought to downplay any friction.