07-10-2007, 10:46 PM
<b>Mosque leader among 60 dead in Pakistan raid </b>
<b>Siege consequences for Musharraf </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->On the domestic front, his move against the militants appears to have the support of Pakistan's largest political party, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which recently frustrated efforts by the opposition groups to form a united front against him.
<b>Troop movements in the sensitive north-western parts of the country during the last four days indicate that the government is willing to take the Red Mosque campaign to the doorstep of the militants.</b>
The military has been deployed in Swat, a district in the north-west, in an apparent bid to put pressure on a firebrand cleric with militant links and a large following.
<b>In the North Waziristan tribal district on the border with Afghanistan, the army has risked jeopardising a peace deal with local militants by re-occupying some check posts it had vacated as part of that deal. </b>
<b>Revenge strikes by the militants during the Red Mosque siege have led to the killing of at least 19 people, including 11 law enforcement personnel, in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). </b>
Tension is also running high in the neighbouring tribal areas along the Afghan border where militant leaders wanted by the government have been addressing large public rallies held to condemn the mosque siege.
<b>But if the government is going to take the militants on again, it could have major knock-on effects on its policy towards Afghanistan.</b>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Siege consequences for Musharraf </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->On the domestic front, his move against the militants appears to have the support of Pakistan's largest political party, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which recently frustrated efforts by the opposition groups to form a united front against him.
<b>Troop movements in the sensitive north-western parts of the country during the last four days indicate that the government is willing to take the Red Mosque campaign to the doorstep of the militants.</b>
The military has been deployed in Swat, a district in the north-west, in an apparent bid to put pressure on a firebrand cleric with militant links and a large following.
<b>In the North Waziristan tribal district on the border with Afghanistan, the army has risked jeopardising a peace deal with local militants by re-occupying some check posts it had vacated as part of that deal. </b>
<b>Revenge strikes by the militants during the Red Mosque siege have led to the killing of at least 19 people, including 11 law enforcement personnel, in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). </b>
Tension is also running high in the neighbouring tribal areas along the Afghan border where militant leaders wanted by the government have been addressing large public rallies held to condemn the mosque siege.
<b>But if the government is going to take the militants on again, it could have major knock-on effects on its policy towards Afghanistan.</b>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->