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Pakistan halts offensive for Ramadan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan said Sunday it was suspending a military operation against insurgents in a tribal region for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, while a blast blamed on a missile reportedly killed four suspected foreign militants elsewhere in the northwest.

A Taliban spokesman welcomed the decision to halt the strikes in the Bajur tribal region, a rumored hide-out of Osama bin Laden, but government and military officials warned that any provocations by insurgents in the area would spark immediate retaliation.

Despite not committing to a formal end to the operation against insurgents, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said people displaced from Bajur could return to the region “without any fear.” He said the suspension would take effect by early Monday, but army spokesman Maj. Murad Khan said by late Sunday the military had halted its activities.

American officials have pressed Pakistan to crack down on militants in its tribal regions, fearing Taliban and al-Qaida-linked fighters involved in attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan use those border areas as safe zones. The U.S. is suspected in a series of missile strikes targeting alleged militant compounds in Pakistan’s rugged tribal belt.

Pakistan’s five-month-old government at first tried peace talks with militants, but those efforts bore little fruit. It has turned to force in recent weeks, including using helicopter gunships and jets to strike insurgent hide-outs.

Bajur has been the primary focus, though clashes also have occurred in the northwest’s Swat Valley. The operation in Bajur has killed at least 562 Islamist insurgents and displaced more than 300,000 people, Malik said Sunday.

The numbers and scope of the operations have been nearly impossible to confirm because of the remote, dangerous nature of the regions. The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for a string of recent suicide attacks, calling them revenge for the offensives.

The escalated violence comes amid political turbulence.

A united ruling coalition forced Pervez Musharraf — the longtime U.S. ally in the war on terrorism — to quit the presidency on Aug. 18. The coalition then rapidly fell apart over disputes about Musharraf’s successor and how to reinstate judges he fired last year.

Asif Ali Zardari, the head of the main ruling Pakistan People’s Party and the widower of slain ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is considered the favorite to win lawmakers’ votes for the presidency on Sept. 6.

The People’s Party is considered generally in line with U.S. goals in fighting extremists, but because of deep anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, it has to tread carefully. Many Pakistanis blame the violence in their country on Musharraf’s decision to support the U.S.

On Sunday, Malik insisted Pakistan was not taking American orders on how to fight extremists in its midst. “We are fighting this war. This is our war. There is no question of America’s dictation,” Malik said.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar said the suspension of the operation in Bajur was welcome, and he reiterated an offer to negotiate with the government. However, he said militants would not lay down their arms as the government has demanded.

Umar also said that, as a gesture of goodwill, the militants would release six paramilitary troops out of 30 they claim to have in captivity.

Malik said that a decision on whether to suspend military activities in Swat required notices by the provincial government. Wajid Ali Khan, a top official with the North West Frontier Province, said early Sunday that a decision could come later in the day.

“The operation in Swat is in high gear, but the holy month’s sanctity requires that people spend it in peace and harmony,” Khan said, adding, “It shouldn’t be a one-way affair.”

However, Muslim Khan, a Taliban spokesman in Swat, said militants would not halt their activities during Ramadan despite any suspension of an army operation.

“This is not a war, but jihad, and this is our faith that rewards for good deeds and that is multiplied during the holy month,” Khan said.

Meanwhile, in the North Waziristan tribal region, witnesses and a local intelligence official said a blast destroyed a house and that a missile strike was suspected.

At least four people were reported killed and two wounded in the Tapi village explosion Sunday, said the intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of his job. He said all six were believed to be foreigners.

Local militants immediately surrounded the site, said area residents Mohammad Ayaz and Noor Rehman. Both said they saw a drone in the air before the explosion at about 3 p.m.

Capt. Christian Patterson, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, said its troops had not fired any missiles into Pakistan on Sunday. Past suspected missile strikes are believed to have been conducted by the CIA using Predator drones.

If confirmed, it could be the second missile strike in two days in a tribal region.

On Saturday, a blast ripped through a home in Wana, a main town in South Waziristan, killing at least five militants, said Afzal Khan, a local official. Two local intelligence officials said it was believed caused by a missile. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Also Sunday, a tribal council in the Salarzai area of Bajur warned Taliban militants they would be shot on sight and told residents not to shelter insurgents or risk loss of money and property, two elders told The Associated Press.

In addition, tribal leaders oversaw the burning and destruction of about a dozen homes and centers of suspected militants, said the elders, Malik Manasib Khan and Malik Bakhtawar Khan.

Fazal Rabi, a local security official, confirmed that a large crowd of armed tribesmen was destroying the marked places.

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Associated Press writers Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Habib Khan in Munda, Asif Shahzad in Islamabad, and Fisnik Abrashi in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.