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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Taleban announce key withdrawal | Taleban announce key withdrawal |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The Taleban say they will withdraw from a Pakistani district where their consolidation of power this week has caused deep concern in the US. | The Taleban say they will withdraw from a Pakistani district where their consolidation of power this week has caused deep concern in the US. |
| A Taleban spokesman said commander Maulana Fazlullah had issued the order for fighters to pull back from Buner, just 100km (62 miles) from Islamabad. | |
| The US has accused officials in Pakistan of abdicating to the Taleban. | The US has accused officials in Pakistan of abdicating to the Taleban. |
| The Taleban have agreed a peace deal bringing Sharia law to some districts in return for ending their insurgency. | The Taleban have agreed a peace deal bringing Sharia law to some districts in return for ending their insurgency. |
| The peace deal covers the six divisions of Malakand, including the troubled Swat region. | |
| The Taleban have almost full control of Swat and this week had strengthened operations in Buner. | |
| Delegation | |
| Taleban spokesman Muslim Khan said: "Our leader has ordered that Taleban should immediately be called back from Buner." | Taleban spokesman Muslim Khan said: "Our leader has ordered that Taleban should immediately be called back from Buner." |
| A delegation from the Taleban and the cleric who negotiated the peace deal, Sufi Muhammad, is on its way to Buner to oversee the withdrawal. | A delegation from the Taleban and the cleric who negotiated the peace deal, Sufi Muhammad, is on its way to Buner to oversee the withdrawal. |
| A meeting in Buner brought a Taleban agreement not to display arms | |
| The news followed a meeting of government officials in North West Frontier Province to discuss the faltering peace deal. | The news followed a meeting of government officials in North West Frontier Province to discuss the faltering peace deal. |
| Ahead of the meeting provincial spokesman Iftikhar Hussain had said: "Those who took arms must lay them down. Those who went to Buner, they must get out from Buner. | Ahead of the meeting provincial spokesman Iftikhar Hussain had said: "Those who took arms must lay them down. Those who went to Buner, they must get out from Buner. |
| "This is the only way, and we are asking them for the last time." | "This is the only way, and we are asking them for the last time." |
| The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says the North West Frontier Province government feels it has fulfilled its part of the deal by enforcing Islamic courts in the region but that the Taleban have yet to meet their end of the bargain. | |
| They were expected to lay down their arms and allow police and other officials to resume their duties. | |
| However, the Taleban further consolidated their hold on Buner. | |
| On Wednesday they stopped a paramilitary convoy at the border village of Totalai and prevented it from reaching Buner's central town of Dagar. | |
| On Thursday, a tribal meeting was attended by Buner elders, the local administration and the Taleban. | |
| The Taleban agreed not to display their arms in Buner and to reduce their checkpoints to a minimum. | |
| But our correspondent says the Taleban have quickly crushed all opposition in Buner and have been strengthening local membership with more recruitment. | |
| The US had expressed deep concern over the developments. | |
| On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Pakistan posed a "mortal threat" to the world by abdicating to the Taleban. | |
| On Thursday US Defence Secretary Robert Gates warned Pakistan that relations with the US would be threatened unless Islamabad combated the rise of the Taleban. |