NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti in an interview with this paper has said that Pukhtoons are peace-loving, and making peace deals was part and parcel of their tradition and culture. There is no denying his claim and hopefully these deals would soon bear fruit. Since the new government took over, which wants to find a political solution to the problem of insurgency in the tribal areas, there has been a significant decline in the rate of suicide bombing incidents and other terror attacks. The government's peace deal with the TNSM, in which Maulana Sufi Muhammad was released has been very helpful. The organization vowed to end its offensive and support the government. A few days back, the government of NWFP signed a peace pact with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The outfit agreed to submit to the writ of the state and renounce all subversive activities. By all accounts, such a course of things is making a difference. This peaceful course has been endorsed by the UK, whose Foreign Minister David Miliband said on Wednesday that the UK was in favour of the resolution of problem of militancy through talks. He said that it was useless to solve the crisis of extremism through the use of force, either in Afghanistan or in Pakistan. But it is a pity that the US is still a major stumbling block. Its missile strikes inside Pakistan's tribal areas serve to stymie peace efforts. In most cases, it is the civilians, including women and children, who are killed. This ultimately breeds discontent among the people and becomes a main reason of militancy. The other day, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen Tariq Majid maintained that it was the coalition forces' operation, which fuels uprising along the border areas. His prescription, that rather the hearts and minds of the people in the conflict zones would have to be won over, really hits the nail on the head. Chief Minister Hoti has rightly asserted that the Pukhtoons were peaceful by nature. Not only that, the rise to power of parties like ANP in the recent elections point to the fact that these people are as much against violence as people anywhere else in the world. The current policy of appeasement should definitely be continued.