Pakistan plays dangerous double game - Asia, World - The Independent

Pakistan plays dangerous double game - Asia, World - The Independent: "The assassin struck shortly after morning prayers, storming into a room at the compound where Qari Zainuddin was staying and opening up with a volley of fire. The militant leader was rushed to a nearby hospital but declared dead. Meanwhile, the gunman - apparently dispatched by Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud - escaped in a waiting car.

The following day, in a cemetery of Muslim and Christian graves encircled by fields of maize, the 26-year-old, who in recent months had pitched himself against Mr Mehsud, was buried. The militant leader's funeral was notable for two things. Firstly the town was filled with checkposts manned by both Taliban and Pakistani security personnel. Secondly, when the dead man's brother, Misabhuddin, vowed to reporters that he would take revenge against Mr Mehsud, he also let slip something else. 'Jihad against America and its allies in Afghanistan will continue as well,' he said."

The killing last week of Mr Zainuddin, who had been staying in a compound provided by the country's ISI security agency, has opened a window on a complicated, controversial and perilous element of the battle against militants inside Pakistan. Mr Zainuddin, himself a Taliban leader who supported al-Qa'ida and jihad against Western troops in Afghanistan, had recently been recruited by the Pakistani authorities to join their battle to kill Baitullah Mehsud, who has emerged as the country's deadliest militant. In essence, Islamabad is recruiting anti-American fighters to bolster a joint US-Pakistani operation.

The arrangement underlines the competing strategic priorities in the region for Pakistan and the US, even as their leaders opt in public for the language of common interests and shared enemies. "Pakistan just wants to concentrate on the Pakistani Taliban. They do not want to go after the Afghan Taliban," said Giles Dorronosoro, a regional expert at the Carnegie Endowment. "The US wants to put the Pakistan-Afghanistan border under control. They have totally different goals. And the issue is not resolvable."

The Pakistan army continues to regard militants who are not fighting against it as enduring assets and in recent years a distinction has been made between "good Taliban" (pro-government) and "bad Taliban" (anti-government). In most cases, that distinction is between militants who fight in Afghanistan and those who fight in Pakistan...

[bth: absolutely worth reading in full.]