Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf yesterday pulled out of a planned council of hundreds of Pakistani and Afghan tribal leaders aimed at reining in militant violence now plaguing both countries.
Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a statement that Musharraf had phoned his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai yesterday to say he can't attend because of "engagements" in Islamabad, and that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will take his place.
The absence of Musharraf, Pakistan's army chief and most powerful figure, could further undermine the effectiveness of the "peace jirga" due to start in Kabul today with more than 600 tribal leaders attending.
The four days of talks are already being boycotted by delegates from Pakistan's restive South and North Waziristan regions amid fear of Taliban reprisals. The hard-line militia is also not involved.
The idea for the jirga was hatched in September 2006 during a meeting between US President George W. Bush, Karzai and Musharraf in Washington as a way to stem rising cross-border violence.
US military and Afghan officials say Taliban militants enjoy a safe haven in Pakistani border regions, particularly Waziristan, where Washington also fears Al-Qaida is regrouping. Pakistan denies it but rising violence between its own security forces and Taliban fighters there underlines the militant threat.
Talat Masood, a Pakistani political analyst, said Musharraf's pullout was likely a response to recent US criticism of Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts, with Washington not ruling out unilateral military strikes against Al-Qaida in Pakistan.
"He is trying to convey a strong message to the United States. There have been a lot of statements coming out of Washington about violating Pakistan's sovereignty and so on. That could be one reason," Masood said.
"Another is that it shows that the chemistry between Karzai and him (Musharraf) is so poor that he wants to back out at the last minute. Why call him just hours before the jirga? I don't see why he could not go to Kabul for a few hours," he said.
The 650 delegates will meet in an oversized tent in Kabul that was used for Afghanistan's 2004 loya jirga that created its post-Taliban constitution.
Source: China Daily/agencies
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