Pakistan’s tribal militants turn against each other

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Pakistan’s rather hapless new government has taken a lot of heat recently for its attempts to negotiate with tribal militants. Critics say the bad guys aren’t keeping up their end of the bargain, and attacks in Afghanistan only escalates when the militants don’t have to fight on two fronts. Regional expert Daniel Markey explained why some deal-making isn’t such a bad thing in a recent piece for ForeignPolicy.com, even if it inevitably fails.

But a recent development suggests that there’s ample room for the government to, if not quell the fighting, then at least turn key tribes against one another through savvy talks. Taliban commanders from two tribes in northern Waziristan have just announced a “bloc” against Baitullah Mehsud, who hails from southern Waziristan and claims to lead the Pakistani Taliban movement. Mehsud stands accused of orchestrating the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

According to an analyst quoted by Pakistan’s Daily Times, the two tribes “disagree with Baitullah’s methods of conducting jihad inside Pakistan” and dislike him personally. Pakistan’s new ambassador to Washington, Hussein Haqqani, has vowed that the government is going to take forceful action in the coming days to address a growing militant threat in the tribal regions. But don’t be surprised if it engages in a little Machivellian deal-making, too.