FATA Situation

[AIR-CAV]

i totally agree with icecold n govt stance to provide evidence of indias involvement in FATA AREA is quite encouraging ....on the other hand the govt should go all out for this clean up thing coz more u give them more they reorganise

 

[muse]

The govt may want to start with sharing the evidence with ordinary Pakistanis, making and winning the case at home before taking outside Pakistan.

 

[AIR-CAV]

haha yes home i can understand ur true love for country but i hope u know the nature of our nation where things go expensive in ramadan ......home has no crowd to vote on the issue n on average u can ask ur surrondings how much people take interest in it n u will be shock.................muse brother

 

[fatman17]

Pakistan military submits to US orders

The government of Pakistan has agreed to US demands to send its army into the restive border areas with Afghanistan. But it claims it will limit its actions to “special forces” operations involving assassinations of rebel leaders.

The concession came after George Bush harangued the Pakistani prime minister Yusaf Raza Gillani during his recent visit to the US.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “Gillani and his aides got an earful from both the White House and Congress about the need to act far more aggressively in the tribal areas”.

Following the meeting Gillani approved the use of unmanned Predator aircraft to target insurgents in the north of the country.

The US has been operating these drones – which carry a deadly payload of missiles – for several years. But now the killings will have Pakistan’s official approval.

One senior Pakistani official said, “The Americans tell us that they need action now.” At risk is $225 million in US aid to Pakistan.

The latest offer by Pakistan to send troops into the north is deeply unpopular. Gillani won the elections last year on the back of growing unrest over the “war on terror”.

The threat against the north has triggered renewed fighting. Over 130 people were killed in the latest clashes between security forces and rebel tribes.

Spread

The spread of the war into northern Pakistan follows another bloody week for Nato and US troops in Afghanistan. Five Nato soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb attack and a US soldier died a day later.

Afghan aid organisations have revealed that this year has been the bloodiest in the country since the war began.

The Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief has warned that fighting has spread to areas that were once considered stable.

“So far this year the number of insurgent attacks, bombings and other violent incidents is up by approximately 50 percent on the same period last year,” the welfare agency reports.

Adding to the instability is the growing deprivation caused by rises in food and fuel prices – and a surge in the number of refugees abandoning the south and east of Afghanistan.

The United Nations estimates that between 10,000 to 15,000 people have been displaced by the latest round of fighting. Many more are believed to be beyond the reach of aid agencies.

Some refugees are settling in growing numbers on the outskirts of the capital Kabul.

They told the International Herald Tribune they were fleeing Nato and US air attacks that usually follow raids by insurgents.

One villager who lost most of his family in an air raid, said, “There were [Nato] armoured vehicles on the hill and they were firing.

“There was a heavy bombardment. They did not differentiate between the guilty and not guilty.”

Socialist Worker (Britain) - an anticapitalist, revolutionary weekly

 

[AIR-CAV]

wats the ray of light we see out of this turmoil well everybody is outlining the darker side ...........i think no body is looking in history wat v r holding does our nation deserve sum respect if u think yes try again if u still go out in the public n try ur luck reality on ground is far far away .....n its in theQURAN v desevr wat v get n v r getting

 

[araz]

The govt may want to start with sharing the evidence with ordinary Pakistanis, making and winning the case at home before taking outside Pakistan.

i am in full support of this action. However, whereas , in NWFP, I would be in favour of total action till the writ of the Government is completely established, and all strongholds of the insurgents are broken up and destroyed. I also think,we should go on an agressive international campaign with presentation of the evidence and once this is established, incvite India to the discussion table so that we can negotiate from a position of advantage. I think both India and Pakistan need to understand that there will be no progress in this region without the 2 Governments sitting together and sorting their differences out.
Araz

 

[JK!]

Breaking news from the BBC: BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Pakistani troops 'kill 25 rebels'

Pakistani troops 'kill 25 rebels'

At least 25 pro-Taleban militants have been killed in clashes in a tribal area in Pakistan along the Afghan border, Pakistani officials say.

At least one soldier has also been killed, they said.

Officials said the clashes took place in the Loi Sum area in Bajaur tribal region, which is part of Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata).

The Taleban currently control large parts of Fata and Bajaur is a haven for Taleban and al-Qaeda militants.

Has the Army finally been unleashed to do its thing?

 

[araz]

Breaking news from the BBC: BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Pakistani troops 'kill 25 rebels'



Has the Army finally been unleashed to do its thing?

Ithink it need ed to happen. This business of treaties,followed by reneging , followed by action cannot go on. We need to do the task once and for all.
Araz

 

[JK!]

We need to do the task once and for all.
Araz

Absolutely agree with this and I imagine most of the members on this forum would also.

But unfortunately as we've seen before countless times a decisive strike operation is never delivered whole heartedly to end this menace.

 

[EagleEyes]

130+ militants were killed last week in Swat.

5 Pakistan Army soldiers received shahadat as a result.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

70 militants killed, 60 injured in clashes​

Updated at: 1100 PST, Friday, August 08, 2008

PESHAWAR: At least 70 militants have been killed and 60 others injured as clashes between security forces and militants continued here in Bajaur Agency Thursday.

Security forces targeted militants’ hideouts by using gunship helicopters and automated weapons.

Around 70 militants were killed and 60 others injured in clashes, firing and shelling, an eyewitness said.

Meanwhile, Tehrik-e-Taliban spokesperson Maulvi Umer claimed that Taliban have killed 10 security men and arrested 10 others.

70 militants killed, 60 injured in clashes

 

[IceCold]

Security forces are certainly getting better and better in COIN as compared to last year. I hope this time Mullah FM is taken out from his *** hole and sent back to rot in hell.

 

[araz]

Security forces are certainly getting better and better in COIN as compared to last year. I hope this time Mullah FM is taken out from his *** hole and sent back to rot in hell.

Brother cecold.
Beleive me what ever comes out of Mullah FM's ***hole is best left there.I however think he ought to be arrested or done away with whichever is more convenient. The problem in publisizing these numbers is sooner or later, public opinion will change against the forces. I think only the fact that certain atrea is now under the control of the forces and our losses ought to be publicized. Hopefully, that way the public sympathy will remain with the forces.
Araz

 

[fatman17]

Brother cecold.
Beleive me what ever comes out of Mullah FM's ***hole is best left there.I however think he ought to be arrested or done away with whichever is more convenient. The problem in publisizing these numbers is sooner or later, public opinion will change against the forces. I think only the fact that certain atrea is now under the control of the forces and our losses ought to be publicized. Hopefully, that way the public sympathy will remain with the forces.
Araz

the use of Special Forces backed by infantry and air-support is giving these results.

 

[Neo]

US strategy would let troops chase militants into Pakistan​

PAMELA HESS

Top Bush administration officials are urging the president to direct US troops in Afghanistan to be more aggressive in pursuing militants into Pakistan on foot in a proposed shift in its regional counterterrorism strategy.

Senior intelligence and military aides want George W Bush to give American soldiers greater flexibility to operate against al Qaeda and Taliban fighters who cross from Pakistan's lawless tribal border area to conduct attacks in Afghanistan.

The plan could include sending US special forces teams into the tribal areas to hit high-value targets, according to an intelligence official.

Such a move would be controversial, in part because of Pakistani opposition to US incursions into its territory, and the proposal is not universally supported in Washington. It comes amid growing political instability in Pakistan and concerns that elements of Pakistan's security forces are collaborating with extremists.

Senior members of Bush's national security team met at the White House to discuss the recommendations and are weighing how to proceed.

The current strategy - relying on Pakistan to keep a lid on the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan - was meant to support Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a strong ally of the US who took control of Pakistan in 1999 in a bloodless coup. Musharraf was sidelined last spring when a coalition government trounced his allies in elections. He remains president but with vastly diminished influence.

Pakistan's governing coalition announced on Thursday it will seek to impeach Musharraf, putting pressure on him to resign.

In Washington, the State Department and some Pentagon officials warn of repercussions from the Pakistani government, which they fear could be further destabilised, while some officials in the CIA are pushing the plan.

Officials closer to the front lines are pushing for a more aggressive stance. The rules limiting US incursions into Pakistan when in hot pursuit of enemy fighters or targets would not be stretched under the plan, but US forces would be encouraged to use that authority liberally.

Afghanistan's ambassador to the US supports the plan.

"The argument that we may destabilise Pakistan has taken us to where we are right now," said ambassador Said Jawad. "Pursuing the policy of public praise and private pressure on Pakistan doesn't work."

However, defence officials are cautioning against stepping up military operations in Pakistan without approval from Islamabad. They say violating Pakistan's sovereignty would anger its people and could affect US use of the country as a base from which to resupply US forces in Afghanistan.

At least 30 militants and seven Pakistani troops died in clashes near the Afghan border yesterday, where security forces pounded insurgent hideouts with helicopter gunships and mortar fire.

The offensive in the tribal region of Bajur followed a militant assault on an outpost manned by security forces on Wednesday that killed 25 militants and two troops.

Meanwhile, the deadliest three months for American forces in Afghanistan have pushed the US death toll to at least 500.

There are about 33,000 US troops in Afghanistan, the most since the war began.

In July, more US troops died in Afghanistan than in Iraq for the first time since the Iraq war started in 2003.-AP

US Strategy Would Let Troops Chase Militants Into Pakistan (from The Herald )