The
BBC reports that attempts by Pakistan's new government to deal with Islamic militancy through "dialogue and development" aren't working:-
At least four people have been killed in a suspected suicide attack in north-west Pakistan, amid signs a truce with militants may be breaking down.
The blast in the town of Bannu would be the first suicide attack since March when Pakistan's new government indicated it would talk with militants. In another attack in the north-west gunmen shot dead two policemen outside a bank in the Swat valley, police said. Last week top militant Baitullah Mehsud suspended talks with the authorities.
That's hardly surprising. Last month, the BBC's
Barbara Plett noted it would be difficult for the government of Pakistan to agree to the extremists demands:-
They want President Pervez Musharraf to stand down and they are demanding that the government abandon its pro-American policy and implement Islamic law in the tribal areas along the Afghan border.
They are also committed to continuing their fight against Nato in Afghanistan.
And they want the government to leave them alone while they get on with it. That's just not going to happen.
