ISLAMABAD/DERA ISMAIL KHAN — Pakistani fighter jets bombed suspected militant hideouts in an ethnic Pashtun area on the Afghan border on Thursday, killing at least 40 people, security officials said, after attempts to engage insurgents in peace talks collapsed this week. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif authorized the air strikes, a source in his office said - a possible sign he was finally giving in to pressure from the military for tougher military action against Pakistani Taliban strongholds. “After restraining the army for three days, the prime minister himself authorized the strikes last night,” the government official said. “It was the only option to teach the Taliban a lesson.” Sharif has been trying to engage the militants in negotiations. But talks broke down this week when a Taliban wing operating in the Mohmand Pashtun tribal region said it had executed 23 soldiers in revenge for the killing of their fighters by the security forces. “At least 40 militants were killed in the precision strikes in the Mir Ali area,” one Pakistani intelligence official told Reuters. “Six different locations were bombed.” — Reuters
