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Operation Zarb-e-Azb | Updates, News & Discussions.

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PKKH Exclusiev | by Shoaib Ahmed

It is the early hours of this battle named "Zarbe Azab", and I am sure that dust from the first round of bombs being dropped at terrorist camps would not have even settled by now, and I want a quick attention to the issue of collateral damage. War, battles, or for that matter, any armed conflict, is bloody in its nature. This does not mean that one should sit idle and allow a coward with the gun to assault and jeopardize your freedom and destroy your way of life. But when you reach out to neutralize that threat, the modern man has learnt a set of dignified principles to do so. Islam has taught us a comprehensive charter for the do’s and don'ts of war. Also, the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols are international treaties that contain the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. If Taliban have not read them or follow them, it doesn't mean that we do the same. Nobody has to become a terrorist in order to deal with the terrorist.

Whether directly killed due to aerial bombing or due to starvation, illnesses, or injury sustained while in flight from the war zones; more than 20,000 civilians died in only the first few months of aerial bombardment by the US in Afghanistan according to The Guardian. Since 2001, these numbers have only gone up. 13 years on, media and aid groups have reported of hundreds of gruesome stories about such atrocities. Ranging from soldiers opening fire indiscriminately on women and children in their homes to surgical strikes on wedding events, these cases have forced the Afghan leaders to protest to Washington several times.

Blinded by their military superiority and vengeance for terror attacks on the home ground, the US and NATO have written volumes of undue oppression in the memories of those they claimed in the first place to win the hearts and minds of. No such tall claims from our Armed Forces or government, but hey, wait a minute!

The terrorists attacked our civilians, our bazaars, our homes, our hospitals, mosques, roads and airports. In nobody's right mind; an equally brutal response should be acceptable. I trust my forces because of their ground knowledge and (hopefully) good intelligence that they will not go on dropping 250 kg bombs on any compound where apparently men of military age have gathered. In my neighbourhood, such gathering usually happens inside a mosque after the calls for prayer. Unlike the NATO, I feel that my forces are better capable of differentiating between a man sitting by the roadside planting an IED from a man who is there to answer the call of nature.

If we apply the same insensitive approach as the West and the NATO have tried for over a decade, of indiscriminatory aerial bombardment, it will only multiply the threat; not to mention that this civilian loss only helps the terrorists recruit fresh blood into their fighting force. Dropping bombs from thousands of feet in the sky on the so-called hideouts and compounds (leaving a legit argument of good or bad intelligence aside) will not only abuse human rights and cause heavy collateral damage, but also I am afraid will engulf my next generation in this stream of violence, death and destruction. Pakistan has lost billions in the hands of terrorism, but the loss of more than 30,000 lives is priceless. Justifiable elimination of the threat should not become a case of heavy civilian casualities. Isolated events are a by-product of any war, but repeated ruthless incidents dramatically decrease public support. Already, thousands of families are fleeing the war zone, and the issue of civilian casualties and loss is both sensitive and historic in terms of its local and international repercussions.

It is enlightening to see a wide spectrum of political groups united in their resolve for operating against the militants. I sincerely want us not to blow it up at any level, and that is why I could not help myself from not highlighting the biggest mistakes made by the West in dealing with the menace of terrorism. They failed to respect the human and cultural values and safeguard the loss of non-militant residents of a land.

The Pakistani government and forces should bear in mind that despite the fact that we may have many advantages in running an armed operation against the terrorists, unlike the US and NATO coalition, we can never avail "Pullout" or "Exit" options. We are in this to finish it (God willing)! We must not be intoxicated with our aerial or ground military might and supremacy and act like a violent aggressor. The judicial and humane merits of running this security operation should differentiate us from the barbarism of the terrorists.

In other words...

Nobody has to become a terrorist in order to deal with the terrorist.
Every bomb matters. So does every Life!

Long live Pakistan!

Author is a media broadcaster/writer/blogger. He is the only Radio journalist to have done coverage of the Army’s Operation Rah-e-Rast Swat 2009. He presents and produces a daily news syndicated live radio show from FM 105 Karachi.

Source PKKH.tv
 
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by Atiq Durrani

After several attempts for peace through negotiations and delays of North Waziristan operation, finally, the Government of Pakistan has decided a full fledged Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan. This decision has been taken after exhausting the option of negotiations for several months.

Polls on different news channels and social media show that most Pakistanis are supporting the military operation against the militants in North Waziristan, but almost the same number of Pakistanis consider this operation as the end of terrorism in Pakistan and may get frustrated with the reaction to this operation by the militants.

It is important to understand that this operation does not mean the end of terrorism in Pakistan, but taking control of this area could play a significant role in reducing the terrorist activities of the militants. The objectives of this operation are to clean this area from militants and take control of this last part of FATA that was not under the control of the Government of Pakistan. Pakistan Army or any other security force was not present there on ground till now. This operation does not mean that after the success of this operation, terrorism will be completely eliminated from Pakistan.

A harsh reaction is expected by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the sleeper cells of different militant organizations in different parts of Pakistan. The government of Pakistan should mentally prepare the people of Pakistan for such reaction.

As the local residents are leaving North Waziristan, it is important that the IDP camps are set up for them in the peaceful areas of FATA but not in the settled areas of KPK, as the militants may flee the territory with the IDPs and spread in other parts of Pakistan.

The border area between FATA and KPK – North Waziristan and other parts of FATA should be sealed by the security forces, so that the militants cannot flee towards the other parts of Pakistan and create tensions in the settled areas or already cleared areas in FATA.

Last but not least, every individual will have to remain vigilant during this end game. If you find any suspicious activity or suspicious person in your surroundings, immediately inform the Police. All these sleeper cells are living within us; if we will remain watchful and not ignore the different apprehensive activities happening in our surroundings, we can save the lives of hundreds of innocent people that may become a prey of the terrorist activities of these terrorists.

Pakistan Army and other security forces are ready for such reaction. A swift response against the militants involved in Karachi airport attack received appreciation in Pakistan and abroad and proved that in spite of the fact that the advantage of the element of surprise stays with the terrorists, Pakistani security forces are capable of prompt response in case of such attacks; though in the case of suicide attacks like Marriot Hotel Islamabad, Pearl Continental Hotel Peshawar and Army Mosque on Parade Lane-Rawalpindi, the damage was already done before the involvement of the security forces.

As a result of such attacks, the percentage of people supporting this operation at this time may significantly fall and the Government of PML-N may feel enormous pressure from media and opposition parties that were always taunting the PML-N for military operations.

This is the time when our nation should not get demoralized and should not lose hope; we should stand by our security forces. We have came a long way since 2001 against terrorism, Pakistani people and Pakistan Army has paid a high price for this cause of eliminating terrorism from Pakistan, and in this final stage of war, we should remain united against the enemies of Pakistan. Professionally, our security forces are trained enough to face such challenges, but morally, they will need the Government’s and the people’s support to win this war.

Source PKKH.tv
 
I was reading an article on BBC about this operation.

BBC News - Pakistan army Waziristan offensive: 350,000 displaced

Most of us know by now that there's no winning with that particular media outlet as they'll find fault no matter what is done. Usual cheap journalists who must criticize which ever action is taken.

Few things caught my eye:



Isn't the army claiming that the number of militants killed is roughly double the number BBC is saying? And mind you, this BBC article is fairly new (i.e. few hours before this post)..



Seven million population? I thought it's closer to 8 lakh, i.e. 0.8 million. And are they pulling that 80% figure out of their arse?



And if they asked several other refugees I bet they'd hear support for the government operation. But of course that never happens.

Whole FATA population is between 4.5-5 million as of now, latest census in 1998 3.1 million.
 
Pakistan army needs MRAP Vehicles when a ground offensive starts. Has US delivered any MRAP vehicles as claimed by some members earlier ?
 
Pakistan will have to keep responding for next 100 years than because the thing which started the problem was entering Tribal areas in first place and becoming part of USA so called war on terror and the same thing will never solve the issue
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By the way which Tank is this is it is not looking Type 59 to me ?


PLA designation: Type 69, the Type 69-III is also known as Type 79

Manufacturer Designation: WZ-121

CONTRACTOR: 617 Factory (Baotou, Inner Mongolia); China North Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO)

SERVICE STATUS: The production stopped in the 1980s, with around 3,000 Type 69s and 1,000 Type 79s in service with the PLA ground forces.

Pakistan produced it under licens, ca. 400 Tanks were buil at HIT.
 
PLA designation: Type 69, the Type 69-III is also known as Type 79

Manufacturer Designation: WZ-121

CONTRACTOR: 617 Factory (Baotou, Inner Mongolia); China North Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO)

SERVICE STATUS: The production stopped in the 1980s, with around 3,000 Type 69s and 1,000 Type 79s in service with the PLA ground forces.

Pakistan produced it under licens, ca. 400 Tanks were buil at HIT.
Some are saying it Type 59
 
Search operation: 118 suspects arrested in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: With the Zarb-i-Azb operation underway in North Waziristan Agency, the Peshawar Police launched a massive search operation on Sunday, arresting more than 118 illegal residents, including a Sri Lankan national, from the posh Hayatabad Township bordering Khyber Agency.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Najeeb-ur-Rehman said more than 700 police officials, including lady police personnel, took part in the operation.

Sniffer dogs were also used in Phase 6 and 7 of Hayatabad Township area raids.

He added that the operation in North Waziristan tribal region was also a reason that the suspects may intrude in posh Township areas.

The operation started at about 5am and was launched after the paramilitary forces received a tip-off about the presence of suspects in the area.

Station House Officer (SHO) of the Tatara police station Riaz Khan said that the operation was divided in eight phases.

He added that most of the suspects in Hayatabad were living illegally or could not provide identification documents. An investigation to determine their identity is underway.

He further added that the operation was also conducted to sensitise people about the present Tenant Law and identify illegal residents living in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s capital Peshawar.

The government has recently introduced a new Tenant Law according to which every person living on rent in KP should register themselves with the local police.

They are required to provide complete details of their family members and No Objection Certificate (NoC) to the concerned police station.

Previously, a number of suspects living in parts of Peshawar including Hayatabad had been arrested, which prompted the KP government to enact a law in order to trace the illegal residents in the area.

Last year, Peshawar police decided to conduct a thorough search operation in all the streets of Hayatabad and adjoining cantonment areas and check the houses for arrest of outlaws keeping in view the increasing crime ratio in the posh locality.

An official source said that major problems had been created by illegal Afghan nationals who were residing in Hayatabad and frequently visiting Afghanistan.

Cantonment Circle Superintendent of Police Kamran Faisal told Dawn that the decision to launch a clean-up operation against criminals had been taken to ensure protection to lives and properties of the people and get a clue to the kidnapped people. He said that gangs involved in the targeted killings and extortion would be one of their main targets.

Police hunt ‘militants in garb of IDPs’
Most of the suspects arrested from Hayatabad belong to the tribal areas of Khyber and Bajaurand also includes some of the IDPs from North Waziristan tribal region.

The family members of those arrested from the North Waziristan tribal region demanded that the government must give them some time to create their No Objection Certificate (NOC) and other documents as they had recently fled the war zone area and are not yet settled.

The police said they have information that some militants have intruded the city area in the garb of IDPs, prompting a search operation.

Hafeez ur Rehman from Miranshah said that his relatives who had just arrived last night were also arrested although they were preparing documents for them but the process was time consuming.

He said that they are law abiding citizens and have no connection with the militants so they must be released.

He said that most of the elders have returned to Bannu in the process to shift the remaining family members.

Those arrested are all youth who even cannot understand Urdu or the native Pashto language.

Akhtar Amin from Dande Darpakhel said that it is highly unjustified that they were being treated like terrorists all over Pakistan.

He said that all Waziristanis can't be terrorists so the police must do a proper research and verification before arresting someone.

He remarked that he arrived two days ago and in the process of preparing documents as his residence was raided and a relative was also arrested.

Javed. Wazir of Khushali Torikhel said that they don't want any government support or ration or anything else but the government should leave them in peace if they want to live in their own rented houses.

He said that they had fled empty handed in a hurry and are penniless. They also said that no one had the time to carry their passports and CNICs so government must adopt another mechanism for their identification.

The police said, they are in the process of verification and those who proved their innocence would be released.

Search operation: 118 suspects arrested in Peshawar - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
 
It will end with an all out defeat for the army,they will try their best to come out with excuses,They are actually already making them up and seriously speaking who believes in the ISPR figures...300 killed ? give me a break
Shame on you. The least you should do in a situation like this is support your army.
 
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