Pakistani Taliban capture 22 soldiers after government rejects terms

Pakistan's interior minister dismissed today Pakistani Taliban conditions for a cease-fire, including changes to the constitution and a break with the US.

By Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Jibran Ahmad,?Reuters / December 27, 2012

An Afghan border policeman feeds a detained suspected Taliban member near Walli Was in Paktika province, near the border with Pakistan in November.

Goran Tomasevic/Reuters/File

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Era Ismail Khan, Islamabad and Peshawar, Pakistan

The Pakistani Taliban have seized at least 22 men from a paramilitary force in attacks on three checkpoints in northern Pakistan, a regional official said on Thursday, but Taliban and other Pakistani sources put the number even higher.

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At least 22 men were missing, two had been killed and one was injured after the overnight attacks, said Naveed Akbar, a regional official whose remit covers the paramilitary units.

Other Pakistani officials said at least 30 men had been taken, a figure confirmed by Taliban spokesmen.

This comes just after the Pakistani?Taliban?have outlined conditions for a cease-fire, including the adoption of Islamic law and a break with the?United States, a spokesman said Thursday, an offer dismissed out of hand by the interior minister.

The?Taliban, in a letter sent to the?Pakistan?daily The News, also demanded that?Pakistan?stop its involvement in the war pitting Afghan insurgents against the?Kabul government?and refocus on a war of "revenge" against?India.

The letter from?Taliban?spokesman?Amir Muawiya?comes as the focus in?Afghanistan?shifts from a military push by NATO troops to potential peace talks, and amid speculation of a rift between top?Pakistan?Talibanleaders.

Military officials told Reuters last month that?Pakistan?Taliban?leader?Hakimullah Mehsud?had lost operational command to his deputy,?Wali ur-Rehman, considered to be more open to reconciliation with the?Pakistani government. The?Taliban?deny Mehsud has lost command.

The Pakistani?Taliban?are a separate entity allied to the Afghan?Taliban. Known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan?(TTP), they have launched devastating attacks against the Pakistani military and civilians.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/QIqjaDqRCE4/Pakistani-Taliban-capture-22-soldiers-after-government-rejects-terms

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