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News Analysis

Pak coalition collapse a bad omen for war on terror

DPA, Islamabad
The collapse of Pakistan's ruling alliance has come as a disappointment for many Pakistanis longing for political stability, but it might also be a bad omen for Western allies who want to see the country focus on its fight against Islamic extremists
"The fight against militancy cannot be won without a comprehensive political strategy devised through a debate in the Parliament, where the parties with a wide spectrum of popular support come together to own it." said Mehmood Shah, former security chief in the country’s tribal region, which is the hub of a rising Islamic militancy.
That opportunity is lost with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) pulling out of the coalition, and the Parliament will now be turned into a nng where the two major parties will wrestle for power instead of tackling the security issues.'he said.
Insurgents who have found safe haven in the remote tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan have stepped up their campaign of violence in recent weeks. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up Friday ar a high-security military-run weapons factory, 30 kilometres north-west of Islamabad, killing about 80 employees.
Three days later, they targeted a police station in North-Western Frontier Province with a suicide car bombing killing at least 10 people, includingfourpoliceofficers.
Tehnk-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant umbrella organization, accepted responsibility for the attacks.
More than 4,000 people have penshed in suicide bombings and other attacks on government forces, security installations and political rallies in 2007 and the first eight months of2008.
The 1TP also provides fighters shelter and training facilities for cross-border attacks in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have killed more than 188 Nato soldiers’, including 101 US troops, since the start of this year.
Pakistan’s government on Monday banned the TTP and three other pro-Taliban groups in a move that was unlikely to have much effect on the operations of the rebel organi -zations.
The insurgents have shown that they can strike anywhere on their will and cause the sort of damage and destruction they want,' said retired general and political commentator Talat Masood. It makes the writ of the government almost non-axistent."
Unfortunately, Pakistan's political leaders continue to bicker in the face of such a big th reat, he said.
Ihe split between the right-wing PML-N and left-wing Pakistan People's Party (PPP) came barely one week after they managed to oust their common foe, former president Pervez Musharraf, a key US ally.
But they wrangled in the following days over the reinstatement of judges ousted by Musharraf, who resigned, and the nomination of the PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, for the presidency.
Some Western diplomats based in Islamabad welcomed the development since the chasm cleared the way for a new purely liberal and secular alliance, led by the PPP, which they believe would be more committed to fighting militants.
The new coalition includes the secular, ethnic Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the nationalist Awami National Party (ANP), which is known for its communist inclinations and anti-religious stance. Ihe ANP defeated Islamic parties in February 18 elections in the restive North-West Frontier Province.
On the other hand, Nawa/ Sharif, head of the PML-N and a former prime minister, is viewed as a conservative leader who has repeatedly criticized US policies in public during election rallies early this year and continued the onslaught while in the coalition government.