"Where terrorist thrive"

Telegraph:

The gun emplacements and observation posts of Mangrotai army outpost overlook possibly the most sensitive border in the world.

This vantage point on the Afghan-Pakistan frontier illustrates all the dilemmas found upon the frontline of the war on terrorism.

High on the snow-bound ridges of the lawless tribal area of North Waziristan, the 30-strong contingent of Pakistani soldiers are sandwiched between Taliban militants and, visible across the border, American and Afghan forces.

Less than a mile away, a Pakistani soldier at a similar outpost was killed and three of his comrades wounded when an American missile hit their position earlier this month.

An official investigation will examine whether the attack was accidental — or a result of American frustration with Pakistan's apparent inability to stop Taliban fighters moving across this frontier.

There are 97 border posts in North Waziristan, perched on brown, barren ridges, or high on mountains blanketed by snow and dotted with pine trees. Here, the militants use the area's numerous nullahs, or gullies, to cross into Afghanistan and attack.

"The people who want to create any nonsense, we are going to control them," said Brigadier Rizwan Aktar, the commander of forces occupying a string of forts along the border.

"No sacrifice will be considered too high," he added, repeating the Pakistani army's mantra on the war on terrorism.

But North Waziristan, a hotbed of militancy and Taliban training camps, all secluded within its intractable folds of mountain, has become the barometer by which America judges Pakistan's commitment to the campaign.

At present, tensions between the two erstwhile allies are running high, with American officials believing the Taliban are preparing a spring offensive, probably to be launched from inside Pakistan.

The very inclusion of North Waziristan and other tribal areas in Pakistani territory is largely theoretical. They are officially exempt from the laws of Pakistan and left under the sway of local chiefs.

The Pakistan army, which is bankrolled with billions of US dollars, was forced to end large-scale campaigns in the tribal areas after 700 soldiers were killed.

However, since President Pervez Musharraf's government struck a deal with the tribal leaders last September, the American militiary forces say the number of cross-border incidents has tripled.

The peace agreement left the local elders alone — provided they handed over terrorist suspects. However, critics say the deal has effectively ceded control of North Waziristan to pro-Taliban militants.

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The so called peace deal has given the Taliban and al Qaeda the space they needed to prepare new attacks and turn the area into a sanctuary. The Pakistan government can not continue to pretend that the deal they made has been honored. If the Paks do not do something with these guys then the US and its allies will have to do the job.