Regrouping Taliban May Widen War; not good for the investment climate

[laststeamtrain]

Regrouping Taliban May Widen War as Pakistan Pays Economic Toll
By James Rupert


Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Taliban fleeing a Pakistani offensive are regrouping in the country’s northwest, threatening to spread and prolong a conflict that has strained the nation’s economy and may hamper efforts to attract foreign investment.

While Pakistan says its month-old offensive in South Waziristan has destroyed the largest Taliban sanctuary, some militants are falling back to Orakzai, a mountain region less than 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province, said Talat Masood, an independent military analyst in Islamabad.

Rising violence in the region last year prompted London- based Tullow Oil Plc to give up operational control of drilling operations near Orakzai. A wider conflict may make it harder to attract companies like Mol Nyrt., Hungary’s largest oil refiner, which this month started natural gas production in the province.

“Naturally, this violence is not good for the investment climate, but the government’s decision this year to tackle the Taliban is a good one for the long term,” said Habib-ur-Rehman, who manages $48 million of stocks and bonds at Karachi-based Atlas Asset Management Ltd.

Peshawar, Pakistan’s eighth-largest city, suffered 11 major terrorist attacks this year, including a Nov. 19 suicide bombing at the main courthouse that killed 18 people. The city has a U.S. consulate and straddles the truck route for supplies from the port of Karachi to U.S. troops in landlocked Afghanistan.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a3Oi6v66BFXk
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War of necessity? Somebody's necessity. Investing class necessity, not mine.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Becomes China's problem.

:think:

[yurbud]

2. ''not a good climate for investment'' that's why we invaded Afghanistan in the first place isn't it