By USMAN ANSARI
ISLAMABAD — Analysts are dismayed the government has accepted a cease-fire from the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) just as the TTP was reeling from Air Force and Army attacks launched in retaliation for the recent attack on a polio vaccination team.
They say it shows the TTP can still dictate the course of events despite a new government security policy designed to tackle internal security threats.
Brian Cloughley, a former Australian defense attaché to Islamabad, says he cannot understand the decision.
“I am at a loss to follow the government’s logic in agreeing to a ceasefire, if only because when rebels propose such a thing it almost always means that they are suffering and want time and space,” he said.
“The public seemed to be firmly on the government’s side about maintaining pressure, but they will wonder what on earth is going on. Perhaps the attack in Islamabad will alter the government’s mind about the risks in accepting a cease-fire proposal. If [Prime Minister] Nawaz Sharif continues to abide by it, however, he is going to be politically isolated,” he said.
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