Taliban faction withdraws from North Waziristan peace deal; At least 30 Pak soldiers killed in an ambush in North Waziristan; US drone attack kills eight in S. Waziristan; 41 security personnel killed as military helicopter crashes
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    • Reports noted that the Taliban faction led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur in the Northwestern tribal region has withdrawn itself from a February 2008 peace deal with the Pakistan authorities to protest against continuing strikes by American drones. This raised the possibility that Pakistani forces may face more fronts in the war against the Taliban. In fact, a Pakistani military convoy was ambushed near Miramshah, the capital of North Waziristan, a day before the group announced its decision, resulting in the death of at least 30 soldiers1.

    The US meanwhile resumed secret military surveillance drone flights over Pakistan’s tribal areas to provide support to Pakistani commanders in their ongoing operations2. A US drone attack on July 3 also killed eight people in Serwekai area of South Waziristan. In a tragic incident, 41 security personnel on board a Pakistani military transport helicopter were killed when it crashed in Chapri Ferozkhel area on the border of Khyber and Orakzai tribal regions on July 3 due to a technical fault3.

    Reports noted that Pakistan has sealed its South Waziristan border with Afghanistan and imposed curfew in the area to prevent Afghan militants from infiltrating into its territory. This was in the wake of a new offensive by US forces against the Taliban on the other side of the border4. Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on his part, during a meeting with visiting US Secretary for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano during the week, made renewed calls for fencing of the country’s border with Afghanistan to effectively prevent militants and drug traffickers from entering its territory. The Afghan government has however been opposing the erection of a fence at the border between the two countries5.

    UN officials meanwhile on July 2 warned against an outbreak of water-borne diseases among internally displaced people (IDP) if humanitarian agencies did not receive adequate funding from the international community. The officials reiterated their appeal for funding to help the largest internally displaced population since the Rwanda crisis of 1994. Sources indicated that the UN had received only $193 million in response to a $543 million aid appeal for about two million IDPs6.

    In other developments, a UN Commission made up of three members has formally begun inquiry into the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The commission is being led by Chile’s UN Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, who also heads the UN Peace-Building Commission7.

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