ISLAMABAD – A Pakistani military offensive against insurgent hideouts prompted the suspension of controversial peace talks with the Taliban on Monday, and the country’s president sought additional foreign aid to assure its nuclear arms remain in “safe hands.”
Following the military push into Dir, a district on the Afghanistan border, militants described their peace pact with the government as “worthless,” threatening a cease-fire the Obama administration has criticized as a capitulation to allies of al-Qaida.
Pressure on the Islamic law deal in the Taliban-held Swat Valley grew Sunday when authorities sent troops backed by artillery and helicopter gunships to attack militants in Lower Dir, another district covered by the pact. Thousands of residents fled, some clutching only a few belongings.
The military said the offensive was an attempt to stop insurgents who had plunged the area into lawlessness by attacking security forces and abducting prominent people for ransom.
“The agreements with the Pakistan government are worthless because Pakistani rulers are acting to please Americans,” said Muslim Khan, a Taliban spokesman in the Swat Valley.
He denounced the military’s operation as a violation of the peace pact and said fighters were on alert in case the agreement was pronounced dead by Sufi Muhammad, a hard-line cleric who mediated the deal.