Growing strength of Pakistani Taliban worries U.S. officials.

Publication: Knight Ridder Washington Bureau (Washington) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2006 Knight Ridder Washington Bureau

Byline: Ken Moritsugu

PESHAWAR, Pakistan _ A Pakistan-based movement inspired by the former Taliban rulers of Afghanistan is growing along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, challenging U.S.-led efforts to stamp out insurgents in Afghanistan and hunt down Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders.

Reports from the South Waziristan region, which is closed to foreign journalists, indicate that local leaders who also call themselves Taliban are setting up offices, recruiting followers and, in some places, acting as local judges.

In Wana, the regional capital, about 20 miles from the Afghan border, these Pakistani Taliban are laying down a strict code of conduct: Men are forbidden to shave, for example, and barbers, fearing punishment, are said to no longer offer the service.

Pakistan, under U.S. pressure, has deployed 80,000 troops to the border region to try to suppress the movement. While some Taliban encampments have been destroyed, their continued presence illustrates the limited success of the three-year military campaign.

"I think the government will be able to quell but it will not be able to root out the insurgency," said Afrasiab Khattak, a leader of the Awami National Party,...

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