Helping your own countrymen would do you more good than propaganda . Since there is no operation going in North Waziristan , this news is baseless and something we expect from " Afghanistan Times " . If the refugees were to migrate , they would migrate to other parts of the country like before , what exactly is suddenly so charming about Afghanistan ?
I thought we'd get some appreciation for helping out Pakistanis in times of trouble, just as we had received help from you since the 1980's. Would you have preferred for these innocent civilians to find themselves caught up under the bombardments? They've came into Afghanistan seeking shelter and our government's extending a helping hand. What's so bad about that?
From the Washington Post (can not provide links as a newbe):
Pakistan military reports 80 killed in airstrikes on Taliban and other militants’ hideouts
By Shaiq Hussein and Haq Nawaz Khan June 15 at 1:17 PM
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan on Sunday launched a major military offensive in the restive tribal region that borders Afghanistan, targeting radical Islamist fighters affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups
The military said 80 militants were killed as Pakistani jets pounded the hideouts of foreign and local fighters in
North Waziristan. But local officials and tribal sources said more than 100 suspected militants were likely to have been killed in the bombardment in the northwestern region.
Earlier Sunday, an airstrike by Pakistani jets was said to have killed 25 suspected militants in the Tirah Valley, a remote border area in the Khyber tribal district, which is north of
North Waziristan.
The Pakistani military has been threatening for months to unleash a large-scale military operation against the militants, who have launched increasingly bloody attacks. But the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had apparently held off from approving such an operation as he tried to engage the Taliban in peace talks.
That peace effort appeared to crumble in recent days as the Taliban attacked Karachi’s international airport, killing 26 people.
Military officials said Abu Abdur Rehman al-Maani, the alleged mastermind of the Karachi attack, was killed in Sunday’s bombardment, as were many Uzbek fighters. Pakistan’s government said that Uzbek fighters played a major role in the airport attack. Some Islamist fighters from Uzbekistan have sought refuge in northwestern Pakistan and at times have coordinated with the Pakistani Taliban.
The Pakistani military’s chief spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa, said in a statement Sunday that the armed forces had launched a “comprehensive operation against foreign and local terrorists” in
North Waziristan.
“Our valiant armed forces have been tasked to eliminate these terrorists regardless of hue and color, along with their sanctuaries,” he said.
Officials said fighter jets struck six suspected compounds of Uzbek and local militants in the lawless tribal district. One military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the operation publicly, said there were reports that some of those killed in the raids were from the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, a separatist group established by Uigher militants in western China.
The Pakistani Taliban — also known by the initials TTP, for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan — is allied with but separate from the Afghan Taliban that is fighting U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Elements of both, along with the Afghan Haqqani network and remnants of al-Qaeda’s core leadership, are located in North Waziristan.
In an earlier statement, the Pakistani army said that it had confirmed reports of “foreign and local terrorists” in the area who had been involved in the planning of the Karachi airport attack on June 8. An ammunition dump had been destroyed in the bombing, the statement said. The attack targeted the Degan area of North Waziristan’s Datta Khel subdivision.
Reports of the death toll could not be independently verified because foreign journalists are not allowed to enter North Waziristan.
Later Sunday, in Mirali, the second-biggest town in North Waziristan, a bomb hit a security convoy, wounding five soldiers, according to Geo TV, a private TV channel.
The tribal advisory council of North Waziristan has asked residents of the district to leave for safer places.
Noor Rehman, a tribal council member, said about 47,000 people have fled their villages, fearing airstrikes and a possible ground offensive by the government in coming weeks.
“We want to resolve the issue through peace, but last week’s unfortunate attack on the airport and now the airstrikes by security forces created hurdles,” he said.
North Waziristan residents are fleeing not only to other parts of Pakistan, but also to Afghanistan’s Khost province.
There are also reports that foreign and local militants have left North Waziristan for other districts in the mountainous areas along the Afghan border.
