Taliban still in Buner despite retreat order

Independent:

Despite claims by Taliban leaders that the group had withdrawn from their new foothold in Pakistan's Buner Valley, scores of fighters continued to swagger about in public last night. Long-haired and thickly-bearded young men – wearing skullcaps and bulletproof vests, with grenades attached to their belts and rusty Kalashnikov rifles slung over their shoulders – patrolled the streets.

Police were nowhere to be seen, and the market place had emptied out since the Taliban seized this fresh territory, just 70 miles from the capital Islamabad. Mohammed Kabir's family has been running a shop selling women's clothes, shoes and bangles for the past 50 years. But the Taliban banned all women from the bazaar when they entered Buner. "Now there is no business, nothing," Mr Kabir said.

A few yards away, Lal Muhammad was mourning the fate of his barber's shop. The Taliban allow him to cut hair "but shaving beards is not allowed", he said, adding: "People do not feel safe to come out."

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Yesterday, the Taliban scaled down their presence in Buner, clearing away checkpoints, but they were warned to pull back completely or face the threat of military action. Pakistan's military chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, said the army would "not allow the militants to dictate terms to the government".

In a mosque in the town of Daggar, negotiations were taking place last night between a local Taliban commander, Maulvi Khalil, and Sufi Mohammed, the hardline cleric that the government has asked to broker an agreement to end hostilities.

Yet even if the Taliban do retreat to Swat, there is no guarantee they will not return. Buner's residents fear the state is in no position to guarantee their safety. Over the past fortnight, they have been forced to look on helplessly as up to 1,000 armed militants poured in, seizing property, attacking security forces, and forcing residents to flee as they imposed their brutal brand of Islam on the area.

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The Taliban's word is no good when it comes to deals with the government, so no one should assume they will leave or stop enforcing their ridiculous rules at the barbershop and other business. These anti freedom control freaks should be defeated and not appeased. Pakistan needs assert control over its territory or quit pretending it is exercising sovereignty. For some reason sovereignty is a big issue if US special forces are chasing bad guys, but if Taliban control freaks are taking over an area it is no big deal at all.

The Telegraph describes the Taliban move as a tactical retreat with many fading into the woodwork for now.