It Appears That Hell Froze Over: Pakistani Government Turns Down Peace Deal From Taliban in Swat Valley

I gotta tell ya, I was holding my breath reading this story from CNN where the Taliban have offered to put down their weapons in the Swat Valley in return for the peace deal previously negotiated....I was almost turning blue waiting to read that the government had agreed...but then, there it was...like a bright laser beam out of the darkness: the Pakistani government told the Taliban to go pound sand. Yes, for the first time in recent memory, the new government of Pakistan actually said no to the Taliban! But believe me, I won't rest easy because you never know what tomorrow will hold. But in the meantime, let's relish in the fact that the beaten up Taliban are panicking and trying to pull out all stops to get the army's shelling off their backs.

Here's some of the details from the article:

The Pakistani Taliban -- under pressure in fighting with the military -- said Tuesday it wants to return to a peace deal that recently collapsed.

That collapse sparked the ongoing massive military operation, a Taliban spokesman said Tuesday.
Taliban militants in Swat Valley have announced that they are willing to disarm if the Pakistani government allows sharia, or Islamic law, to be implemented in the region, a spokesman for Taliban mediator Sufi Mohammed said.
The government rejected the offer, saying the Taliban must pull out of Swat or face arrest, state information minister Syed Sumsam Ali Shah Bukhari said Tuesday. According to Bukhari, the offer shows that the Taliban's morale is down and they are retreating.

Now, I hate to rain on my own parade but I hadn't even thought about another possible twist to this scenario. What if the Obama administration contacts the Pakistani government and insists that they take the Taliban's deal?! Hmmm....wouldn't that make President Obama a hero with the Taliban, huh? I doubt that Obama would frown on any implementation of sharia law anywhere and he might just feel this olive branch to the Taliban might help his efforts in Afghanistan to reach out to the so-called "moderate" Taliban there. Okay, I see you shaking your head but look me in the eye and tell me this just COULD NOT happen. See? You can't.

The Pakistani military has these numbnuts on the run, they've inflicted heavy casualties on the Taliban and could actually run the Taliban out of the Swat Valley in about a month - one can only hope and pray that they put the pedal to the floor on this and see that it gets done and that they don't stop there and keep pushing them north, north, north.

Taliban seek return to peace deal in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Pakistani Taliban -- under pressure in fighting with the military -- said Tuesday it wants to return to a peace deal that recently collapsed.

That collapse sparked the ongoing massive military operation, a Taliban spokesman said Tuesday.
Taliban militants in Swat Valley have announced that they are willing to disarm if the Pakistani government allows sharia, or Islamic law, to be implemented in the region, a spokesman for Taliban mediator Sufi Mohammed said.
The government rejected the offer, saying the Taliban must pull out of Swat or face arrest, state information minister Syed Sumsam Ali Shah Bukhari said Tuesday. According to Bukhari, the offer shows that the Taliban's morale is down and they are retreating.
The lastest round of fighting has killed an estimated 1,100 Taliban militants and 75 Pakistani security personnel, Pakistan's military said Tuesday. Another 226 Pakistani security personnel have been wounded, the military said.
Mohammed negotiated the previous deal between the Taliban and the government, which called for the same arrangement.

That deal fell apart because the Taliban refused to disarm and moved into the Buner district, located outside of the region that the government allowed them to control.
The government has said it will only allow sharia if it does not contradict Pakistan's constitution. There are many interpretations of Islamic law, but the Taliban's version has curbed human rights, forcing women indoors, men to grow beards, and shops to stop selling movies and music.