Afghanistan Afghanistan, Pakistan to Target Taliban Hideouts

"The message is that people who want to take part in the peace process should have the way cleared for them,"

"To those that think war is the only means to reach their goals, there should not be a hide-out for them to continue their war."

Those are the most common sense words ever to come out of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Something must be wrong.

Foxnews
Pakistan has agreed to target the hide-outs of Taliban fighters and other insurgents who attack neighboring Afghanistan and refuse to take part in faltering peace talks, Afghan officials said Sunday.

Many of the Taliban's key leaders are thought to be hiding in Pakistan, and the threat of military strikes could be used to pressure fighters to negotiate. Still, how strong Pakistan will go after the Taliban remains in question, and there was no immediate confirmation of the agreement from the Pakistani government.

Taliban fighters and other groups have long used Pakistan's tribal areas to launch attacks on NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan, a point of contention between the two nations.

"The message is that people who want to take part in the peace process should have the way cleared for them," said Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, secretary of a peace council set up by Afghanistan's president. "To those that think war is the only means to reach their goals, there should not be a hide-out for them to continue their war."