VOA标准英语2008年-Pakistan FM Defends Taliban Peace Talks on Eve

By Barry Newhouse
Islamabad
05 June 2008

Pakistan's foreign minister says government peace deals with pro-Taliban militants² are aimed at establishing a "peaceful coexistence" with the groups. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad that Shah Mehmood Qureshi also said critics of the deal are "cynical³."

Pakistan's peace agreements with Taliban militants have drawn⁴ concern from NATO forces, Afghan officials and the U.S. government who worry they will be short-lived truces⁵ that only undermine the war against Taliban and al-Qaida fighters.
　

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, 21 May 2008

But a day before leaving on his first trip to Kabul, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi pushed back against critics during a forceful speech before parliament.

"When we talk of peace, we also have to tell our friends, who at times are cynical about the peace negotiations⁷ that Pakistan has undertaken," said Qureshi. "Look at the spirit behind that negotiation⁶. The spirit is not capitulation, the spirit is not compromise, the spirit is peaceful coexistence."

Pakistan's border tribal⁸ regions, named FATA, are populated by fiercely independent tribes that have long opposed any central government control.

But Qureshi says many people in the region have been caught in the crossfire⁹ between Taliban militants and the Pakistani army and the locals now mainly want peace. The foreign minister said if the government can win over residents by bringing peace through dialogue and, if necessary, military force - officials can try to end the regions' economic and political isolation¹⁰.

"This area has been deprived for the last 60 years," said Qureshi. "And that is why the government feels this area has to be amalgamated¹¹, has to be integrated into mainstream¹² life."

In Afghanistan, local officials and NATO commanders have worried that those long-term plans will not get off the ground - and withdrawing Pakistani security forces from parts of the border region will mainly allow Taliban forces free reign¹ to regroup and launch attacks.

But Qureshi said that Pakistan should not shoulder all of the blame for the Taliban insurgency¹³.

"The insurgency if it's being tackled fully¹⁴ and completely across the border - it has to be seen and it has to be debated," he said. "To what extent has the government of Afghanistan been able to establish its writ¹⁵ outside the urban cities of Afghanistan?"

In recent years Pakistan and Afghanistan have accused each other of not doing enough to combat Taliban militants, stunting¹⁶ cooperation between the two sides. On Wednesday, the new NATO commander in Afghanistan U.S. General David McKiernan said a top priority is recreating a joint¹⁷ military commission including Pakistan and Afghanistan that addresses border issues.

1 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 truces   

休战( truce的名词复数 )； 停战（协定）； 停止争辩（的协议）； 中止

参考例句：

• Previous military operations have ended in truces. 以往的军事行动都以停火而告终。
• Many blamed it on the army, which had made several truces with the militants in Malakand. 许多人把责任推给军队，这迫使巴军与马拉坎地区武装分子进行了好几次停战。

6 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

9 crossfire   

n.被卷进争端

参考例句：

• They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。
• When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。

10 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

11 amalgamated   

v.（使）（金属）汞齐化( amalgamate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）合并；联合；结合

参考例句：

• The company has now amalgamated with another local firm. 这家公司现在已与当地一家公司合并了。
• Those two organizations have been amalgamated into single one. 那两个组织已合并为一个组织。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

13 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

16 stunting   

v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective To report three-year-old twin brothers with speech stunting. 目的报道孪生兄弟同患语言发育迟缓的临床结果。 来自互联网
• No one should talk while stunting except coach or back spotter. 在技巧进行的过程中，只有教练或后保能说话。 来自互联网

17 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。