East Afghanistan is 'Al Qaeda and Taliban Central'

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

LINKS TO OTHER THREADS DISCUSSING RELATED ISSUES:

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistans-war/126832-terrorists-attack-pakistan-afghan-sanctuaries.html

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistans-war/118475-over-120-afghan-militants-storm-pakistan.html

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistans-war/114853-terror-attacks-afghanistan-pakistan-continue.html

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakist...nts-afghanistan-attack-pakistan-villages.html

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistans-war/120294-terror-safe-havens-afghanistan-pak-army.html

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistans-war/131902-us-behind-dir-chitral-attacks.html

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistans-war/116148-east-afghanistan-al-qaeda-taliban-central.html

http://www.defence.pk/forums/pakistans-war/135253-us-sheltering-mullah-fm-ttp-terrorists.html

Afghan-Pakistan border like 'house without door'​

By Bilal Sarwary

BBC News, Afghan-Pakistan border

Who wins in the border area could win the entire Afghan war


Afghan intelligence officials in the province of Nuristan have accused the central government and Nato forces in particular of ignoring insurgents there and in other strategically important areas close to the Pakistani border.

They say that increasing violence in Nuristan - and in the provinces of Laghman, Kunar and Nangarhar - poses a significant security threat.

"Nuristan is now al-Qaeda and Taliban central," said one senior police official in the province. "They attack in hundreds, they have blocked key roads. We need to retake these areas from them."

The problem has become so acute that Gen Aminullah Amarkhel of the Afghan Army says the border with Pakistan is like a "house without a door".

The general commands Afghan forces along the 450km (280 mile) international border that cuts across Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan.

Poor security in this area makes it not only harder to fight insurgents - it also makes life easier for smugglers who also operate in the border areas and know its terrain only too well.


Meanwhile relations between the Afghan army and Pakistani forces remain tense on the border. Only recently Afghan officials in Kunar said close to 200 rockets landed in the province from Pakistan. Some of the 12 people killed were relatives of a powerful tribal elder who is also a district governor.

The police chief of Kunar, Gen Ewaz Mohammad Naziri, accused Pakistani forces of firing the rockets.

In recent months, Afghan and Pakistani border forces have clashed in the district of Goshta. Both sides exchanged heavy weapons fire.

'Enough is enough'

Like much of Afghanistan's armed forces, the border police are heavily dependent on their coalition partners.

The American military has helped them by providing armoured Humvees, heavy weapons and radios. More recently they have supplied sniper rifles.

"Since they have helped us, things have improved a lot. Their training is the most effective. But I need helicopters, I need mine-clearing machinery, I need better radios, I need more troops on the ground," says Gen Amarkhel.

Tribes in the region are helping security forces
A former Mujahideen fighter, Gen Amarkhel fought the Soviets in the 1980s for the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan and later against the Moscow-backed government of President Najibullah.

It could be that he is receiving help in his battle to control the border from some unlikely sources.

Various powerful tribes who reside in the area often help to defend it, an officer with the country's spy agency, the NDS, told the BBC.

Recently the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban killed nine members of a family on a wedding night.

"These tribes now have decided enough is enough," says the spy.

In order to get some idea of just how dangerous this part of the world is, Gen Amarkhel allowed me to accompany him as his troops launched an operation to seize illegally-held hashish.

The mission was top secret and the general had chosen not to disclose the programme even to his personal staff. Just before dawn, a heavily armed convoy of 20 vehicles was ready to move.

"There's been an exchange [of fire] last night with drug smugglers in the border district of Dehbala," Gen Amarkhel said. "We will know more on the way."

This is a mountainous region covered with dense vegetation. The tough terrain, thick forests, poor roads and non-existent communication network provides a perfect sanctuary to drug dealers, arms smugglers, the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

The government has never been in total control of this region. Nangarhar in particular is notorious for the illegal drug trade. Poppy and hashish are grown here and it is known to have several heroin processing laboratories.

Under-resourced

Like much of rural Afghanistan, Nangarhar's border districts have never had asphalted roads. There are few schools or heath clinics, making it easier for the smugglers and militants to recruit into their ranks.

Security forces are guarding one of the most treacherous areas in the country
After a two-hour drive, we arrive in the border village of Gorgoray. On the previous night, smugglers had used heavy machine guns and grenades on the border police.

But the police drove them back and the blood of the the smugglers could still clearly be seen on the ground. Although they escaped, they left behind 10 mules loaded with hashish estimated to be worth about $15m in London or New York.

"The Taliban and al-Qaeda charge a 10% tax on the smugglers," Gen Amarkhel said. "I am happy that we have denied them such huge revenue."

"In the past seven months, we have seized 7.5 tonnes of hashish and 60kg of heroin," the 46-year-old general said.

But he has his hands full. There are 5,000 soldiers under his command, mostly under-resourced and under-equipped. They have to guard one of the most treacherous areas in the country.

Back in his office, the general was trying to call in Nato air strikes to help one of his police posts, which was coming under attack from the Taliban.

''I will send you help very soon," the general said into his mobile phone. "We have asked for close air support. Keep fighting back.''

But as aides frantically tried to find the location, they realised that the insurgents were only a few hundred metres away from the district headquarters. Calling an air strike at this point could endanger civilians. The jets were ordered to turn back.

Hours later, dozens of heavily armed insurgents attacked a post not very far from the Pakistani side of the border. Border police reinforcements were again dispatched.

This is a part of the world that is literally in the line of fire - whoever wins here could win the entire Afghan war.

BBC News - Afghan-Pakistan border like 'house without door'

================

So much for 'under constant threat of attack from ISAF'.

As Pakistan has been arguing for over three years now, Taliban militants are using this region in Afghanistan to shelter, train and launch attacks against Pakistan.

Mullah FM from Swat is reportedly also sheltering there.

The US should use its 'drone strikes' to fix terrorist havens in territory that is its own responsibility before lecturing Pakistan.

 

[53fd]

This is the truth most American people & others don't want to see.

 

[lem34]

Afghans are our brothers and I would say that in a free vote they would choose to be part of a greater pakistan and probley choose to have a flat in islamabad. Its only puppets of america and india we have aproblem with. In fact look s like americans have had enough and they are leaving or running away we will become one again.

 

[MrIndianSikh]

both Pakistan and Afghanistan need to work together into flushing there respective borders of terrorists and insurgents Afghanistani and ISAF forces need to secure Eastern Afghanistan while Pakistan needs to secure Waziristan and the Kyhber region

all 3 need to conduct search and destroy operations launch air strikes on the terror hideouts etc

 

[S.M.R]

The world's most technologically advanced security forces are unable to control entire afghansitan, but still ask Pakistan to 'do more'.
Hypocricy has some level, but there seems none.

 

[lem34]

both Pakistan and Afghanistan need to work together into flushing there respective borders of terrorists and insurgents Afghanistani and ISAF forces need to secure Eastern Afghanistan while Pakistan needs to secure Waziristan and the Kyhber region

all 3 need to conduct search and destroy operations launch air strikes on the terror hideouts etc

Yea we dont know what we have to do. we need an Indian to tell us what to do. We all know who are enemies and what we have to do.

 

[MrIndianSikh]

Yea we dont know what we have to do. we need an Indian to tell us what to do. We all know who are enemies and what we have to do.

i'm not saying YOU don't know what to do i'm saying YOU are not doing IT look at North Waziristan bro militants terrorists do whatever they want there for the sake of peace in South Asia get rid of the radicals

 

[alphamale]

if pakistan feel threatened by open border with afg. then pak should build a fence & properly secure it. but i think this step is also not feasible because it requires huge money & it will also offend pashtuns of pakistan.

 

[MrIndianSikh]

if pakistan feel threatened by open border with afg. then pak should build a fence & properly secure it. but i think this step is also not feasible because it requires huge money & it will also offend pashtuns of pakistan.

not only that the Afghan-Pak border is mountainous and to fence it off would require billions of dollars Pakistan army should just put sentry guns on the border with Pak it would solve the shelter problem

 

[S.M.R]

if pakistan feel threatened by open border with afg. then pak should build a fence & properly secure it. but i think this step is also not feasible because it requires huge money & it will also offend pashtuns of pakistan.

Totally agreed with fencing, even i would recommend for mines. If that brings peace in Pakistan, our pashtuns will be first people happy on this. Like they made lashkars against taliban to fight together with PA.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

if pakistan feel threatened by open border with afg. then pak should build a fence & properly secure it. but i think this step is also not feasible because it requires huge money & it will also offend pashtuns of pakistan.

All it will take is wire cutters, or a grenade, explosive or RPG to blast through a 'fence'.

At the end of the day even a 'fence' needs to be monitored constantly, and that is where the major issue is - the terrain of the border would require an enormous amount of manpower and resources to be monitored constantly and minimize the gaps in coverage.

To provide effective night time coverage would require significant investment in Night Vision equipment, along with the increase in manpower.

Quick responses to any intrusion would require a bigger investment in air lift capabilities or air strike capabilities, and these assets would likely have to remain in a constant state of readiness, which would then impose even more costs in terms of fuel, maintenance, attrition etc.

 

[Gandhi G in da house]

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[MrIndianSikh]

All it will take is wire cutters, or a grenade, explosive or RPG to blast through a 'fence'.

At the end of the day even a 'fence' needs to be monitored constantly, and that is where the major issue is - the terrain of the border would require an enormous amount of manpower and resources to be monitored constantly and minimize the gaps in coverage.

To provide effective night time coverage would require significant investment in Night Vision equipment, along with the increase in manpower.

Quick responses to any intrusion would require a bigger investment in air lift capabilities or air strike capabilities, and these assets would likely have to remain in a constant state of readiness, which would then impose even more costs in terms of fuel, maintenance, attrition etc.

or you could just place sentry guns mines on the border which will take care of the infiltration problem but then again the afghan pak border is rugged and mountainous so even sentry guns might not be able to get the job done

 

[Bratva]

I think this post is relevant to our discussion here.

Taliban occupy abandoned US outpost in Kunar
By BILL ROGGIOApril 12, 2011



The Taliban have occupied a combat outpost abandoned by US troops in the eastern province of Kunar, and claim they will set up a headquarters there.

In a video taken by Al Jazeera, a heavily armed group of Taliban fighters is seen marching up a road in the Pech River Valley. The fighters do not appear concerned about being targeted by Afghan or US ground or air forces.

The Taliban group is then filmed inside what appears to be a combat outpost; HESCO barriers, sandbags, and other artifacts from ISAF forces are seen in the background.

A commander identified as Mullah Muhibullah claimed the Taliban will establish "a permanent base" there, swore allegiance to Mullah Omar, and said his forces will continue to attack US troops until they "reach the gates of America."

"We will have a permanent base here and we will maintain control of it," Muhibullah told Al Jazeera. "As long as our commander, Mullah Omar, is alive and our guide, we will fight for him. The infidels failed to hold this outpost. Our jihad against American troops will continue, and one day we will reach the gates of America."

Another commander identified as Intiqam said the Taliban have imposed sharia, or Islamic law, in the area, and he twice denied any links to al Qaeda.

"The whole area is secure and sharia [Islamic] law is being applied here and all the people are very happy," Intiqam said. "We have no links with al Qaeda; we are Taliban fighters under the command of Mullah Omar. We are not associated with al Qaeda."

But al Qaeda is known to have a strong presence in Kunar province and its forces often fight alongside local and regional Taliban groups against US and Afghan forces. Al Qaeda also maintains bases and training camps in Kunar. And in December, the special operations forces captured Abu Ikhlas al Masri, al Qaeda's commander in Kunar.

The Taliban made similar propaganda videos in the past after US forces withdrew from combat outposts in Kamdesh (or Waygal) in Nuristan province in 2009, and the Korengal Valley in Kunar in 2010.

In one video, also filmed by Al Jazeera, the Taliban were seen occupying one of the abandoned combat outposts in Kamdesh in Nuristan. The Taliban displayed weapons, mines, and ammunition left behind by departing US and Afghan forces. In another video, released by the Taliban, Dost Mohammed, the shadow governor for Nuristan, was seen riding on an exercise bike left behind.

Within the past few years, US troops have abandoned several combat outposts in Kunar and Nuristan after major attacks on the remote bases. US Army commanders said that the outposts were closed or turned over to Afghan forces as part of a new counterinsurgency strategy to secure population centers. Some analysts claimed that the insurgencies in these areas were local and driven by the presence of US forces. Their prediction that the insurgency would die out after US forces left the region has since been discredited.



Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/04/taliban_occupy_aband.php#ixzz1Q4wsyu00

 

[Al Bhatti]

All it will take is wire cutters, or a grenade, explosive or RPG to blast through a 'fence'.

At the end of the day even a 'fence' needs to be monitored constantly, and that is where the major issue is - the terrain of the border would require an enormous amount of manpower and resources to be monitored constantly and minimize the gaps in coverage.

To provide effective night time coverage would require significant investment in Night Vision equipment, along with the increase in manpower.

Quick responses to any intrusion would require a bigger investment in air lift capabilities or air strike capabilities, and these assets would likely have to remain in a constant state of readiness, which would then impose even more costs in terms of fuel, maintenance, attrition etc.

Will something like this work ?

Camcopter S-100 UAV - Air Force Technology

http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/camcopters-100uav/camcopters-100uav1.html