Taliban Returns Along Lawless Pakistani Border; Musharraf Tells FRONTLINE His Attempts to Contain Them Have Failed

Taliban Returns Along Lawless Pakistani Border; Musharraf Tells FRONTLINE His Attempts to Contain Them Have Failed

FRONTLINE presents RETURN OF THE TALIBAN Tuesday, October 3, 2006, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS

http://www.pbs.org/frontline/taliban

BOSTON, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- In the lawless tribal areas along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the Taliban is gaining control. In a video obtained by FRONTLINE, the Taliban demonstrate their brutal brand of justice. After executing 17 people, said to be thieves, in front of a crowd of hundreds, they hung the bodies on poles for three days. "We have killed these people and sent them to God," a Taliban gunman says to the camera. "God will bring them to justice."

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060925/NEM042 )

FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith returns to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and presents a rare look inside this secret sanctuary in RETURN OF THE TALIBAN, the FRONTLINE season premiere, airing Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings).

After 9/11, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf pledged his country's support to America's fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, but he has struggled to control his own military and intelligence services. For Pakistan, the benefits of cooperation with America have been clear. As President Musharraf tells FRONTLINE, "Defense cooperation has increased between the United States and Pakistan, and ... the debt relief that we got will account for about $4 to $5 billion."

The tribal areas are inherently difficult to control because of terrain and the fierce autonomy claimed by local leaders. "We used to call them the no-go area[s], or the inaccessible areas," says Gov. Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai, the Pakistani political chief of the tribal areas. "We had maps, but they were not very accurate. The borders are unguarded." Culturally, there are also great sympathies for the Taliban cause. According to Steve Coll, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Ghost Wars, "when the Pakistan army is fighting the Taliban, they're fighting cousins. They're fighting brethren."

Even under government pressure, some tribesmen continue to provide money and resources to the Taliban and Al Qaeda. After prodding from the United States, in 2004 Pakistan launched a major military offensive against a joint force of tribal militia and Al Qaeda fighters in an effort to take control of an area where Al Qaeda training camps were located. But the offensive failed, and Pakistani authorities turned to negotiation. The army demanded that tribal leaders give up all foreign fighters taking refuge with them, stop cross-border raids against U.S. forces in Afghanistan and lay down their arms. In return, the government agreed to pay the tribesmen more than a half-million dollars.

According to sources familiar with the agreement, the money was destined for Al Qaeda. "This was part of the deal because some of these commanders had ... borrowed money for logistics, for support," says Ismail Khan, an editor at Dawn, Pakistan's largest English-language daily newspaper. "They wanted the money to pay their debt to Al Qaeda."

An uneasy truce followed. The army is largely confined to its barracks, the Taliban exercises control over much of the area and foreign fighters continue to launch cross-border raids. President Musharraf concedes that his strategy of negotiating with the local militants in 2004 has failed. "We thought if we reached an agreement, that would be the end of it," President Musharraf tells FRONTLINE. "Well, it proved wrong." Nonetheless, President Musharraf's government signed a new deal on Sept. 5 with tribal leaders who control another part of the lawless border region, but observers report that the terms are even less favorable to the government and signal a further strengthening of the Taliban's grip on the area.

"The United States is beginning to recognize that its project in Afghanistan will fail unless it addresses the sanctuary and support that the Taliban enjoys in Pakistan," says Steve Coll. "But the United States has not yet reached the point where it knows what kind of ... policy it is prepared to carry out."

Return of the Taliban is a FRONTLINE co-production with RAINMedia, Inc. The writer, producer and reporter is Martin Smith. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided by The Park Foundation.

Press previews and interviews contact:

Diane Buxton (617) 300-3500

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060925/NEM042
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN 7
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: FRONTLINE/PBS

CONTACT: Diane Buxton of FRONTLINE/PBS, +1-617-300-3500

Web site: http://www.pbs.org/frontline/taliban

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