Taliban control area near Pakistan capitol

CNN:

Taliban militants who implemented Islamic law in Pakistan's violence-plagued Swat Valley last week have now taken control of a neighboring district.

Control of the Buner district brings the Taliban closer to the capital, Islamabad, than they have been since they started their insurgency. Islamabad is 60 miles (96 km) from the district.

"Our strength is in the hundreds," said Moulana Mohammad Khalil, as heavily armed men openly patrolled the roads in pickup trucks, singing Islamic anthems.

The militants had taken control of the area to ensure that Islamic law, or sharia, is properly imposed, Khalil said.

The government called the advance into Buner a breach of a recently-signed peace agreement.

"Now Taliban are violating the peace agreement, and if they continue the government will take strict action and not allow the Taliban to create a parallel government in that area," said Mian Iftikhar, a spokesman for the regional administration in the North West Frontier Province, where Buner is located.

...


Taliban bad faith should be notorious by now, but the Pakistan government still acts like Charlie Brown trying to kick a football controlled by Lucy. Will the government now recognize that there is no agreement that the Taliban will keep and act accordingly before it is too late? There is little reason for optimism at this point and the weakness of this government is inviting either a Taliban coup or an army one and the latter would be the best for the people at this point.

Bill Roggio has more on the Taliban's expansion of its operations.

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