Operation Rah-e-Nijat (South Waziristan)

[TaimiKhan]

No 425/2009-ISPR Dated: October 18, 2009
Rawalpindi - October 18, 2009:

Daily ISPR Update

1. South Waziristan- Operation Rah-e-Nijat

a. In last 24 hours, reportedly , sixty (60) terrorists have been killed in operation Rah-e-Nijat. Casualties of security forces are five (05) soldiers embraced shahadat and eleven (11) are injured. Details are as follows:-

(1) On Jandola-Kotkai-Sararogha Axis, area upto Mandana, Kund and Tarakai feature has been secured by security forces. Reportedly thirty terrorists have been killed and many injured. Own casualties are 2 soldiers shaheed and 4 injured.

(2) On Shakai-Kaniguram-Ladha Axis, Operation has progressed 7 Kilometers north of Shakai and features like Boya Narai and Wuzi Sar have been captured. Fighting is going around Sherwangi. Reportedly twenty terrorists have been killed and many injured. Own casualties are 1 soldier shaheed and 3 injured.

(3) Important features and tactical heights around and south of Razmak have been secured by security forces. Reportedly 10 terrorists have been killed. Own casualties are 2 soldiers shaheed and 4 injured including two officers.

(4) Six 12.7mm Anti air craft gun positions of terrorists have been destroyed in different areas and one 12.7 mm gun position has been captured in Wuzi Sar area. Lot of IEDs / mines have been recovered.

(5) Number of vehicles under use of terrorists have been destroyed. Due to security forces advance, terrorists are vacating their posts / area leaving behind arms and ammunition.

(6) Villages / hutments enroute are being cleared by security forces conducting search and clearance operation. Civilians are not being targeted; in some areas people (including women) raised white flags; they were left off after search.

 

[TaimiKhan]

The battle for Waziristan
By Sayed Bokhari

Though military operations are launched unannounced to catch the enemy off guard, the case of Operation Rah-i-Nijaat has been altogether different.

While at the time of writing troop movement and reports emanating from Peshawar indicated that the operation had begun in South Waziristan, since June there have been regular indications that the army was ready to start hostilities against the Taliban in the area.

This strategy may have been initiated to give ample time to the civilian population of Waziristan to leave for safer places and convert the area into a battlefield where the security forces could unleash their arsenal without causing too much collateral damage.

In June NWFP Governor Owais Ghani announced that the government had finally decided to go all out against the (now dead) chief of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Baitullah Mehsud, and his cronies and that the army and other law-enforcement agencies were being given a free hand to take them on.

The decision was welcomed as the TTP had inflicted severe sufferings on innocent civilians, slaughtered men in uniform, assassinated religious scholars and bombed educational institutions and government infrastructure.

Figures vary, but it is estimated that Waziristan is home to more than 5,000 hardened militants besides some 2,000 Uzbek fighters. The total strength of the enemy in the area is said to be 10,000. The reported death of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) leader Tahir Yuldashev in a drone attack in South Waziristan in August was a big blow to the violent foreign militant group that was waging a fierce campaign against Pakistan and its state agencies. The death of Yuldashev has deprived the IMU of a leader credited with masterminding deadly attacks on military convoys and camps.

On the face of it at least, the prevailing conditions in Waziristan are favourable for Operation Rah-i-Nijaat. It is widely believed that the command structure of the TTP is in disarray. Its dreaded chief Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US missile strike in August. The success of Operation Rah-i-Raast in Swat has also bolstered the morale of troops and inspired confidence among the people.

Isolating Baitullah’s group from other militant organisations active in the area was an important strategic consideration and perhaps the government has managed to do that vis-à-vis the Maulvi Nazir group in the Wana area in South Waziristan and Hafiz Gul Bahadur in North Waziristan. Past events reveal that some militants of the Nazir group were killed by pro-Baitullah fighters inside Mehsud territory, resulting in a bitter feud between the two groups. Hence winning over the Nazir group would not have been too difficult.

Another commander, Misbahuddin, leads the anti-Baitullah group. This group has assisted the law-enforcement agencies in pointing out militants belonging to the Baitullah group even in Islamabad and Karachi. All this is of course countered by what the military will be up against. There are two major forces which are likely to support the Baitullah group against the army — the Haqqani network, which is mostly active in Afghanistan fighting Nato forces, and the IMU.

To take care of this contingency, additional troops are said to have been deployed to occupy the strategic heights along the Mehsud territory’s border with North Waziristan besides the sealing of four access points in the battle zone from Razmak-Makeen, Wana-Ludda, Jandola-Sararogha and Kanigoram-Jandola. The Shawal mountains would thus be the only escape route available to the militants, but would effectively prove a dangerous one for them because of air and ground firepower.

In view of the operation that appears to have begun, the army placed two divisions consisting of 27,000 soldiers to take on an estimated 10,000 hard-core Taliban militants. The army has spent weeks cutting off militants’ escape routes and softening up targets in the region, using limited intelligence-led ground and air strikes.

It is believed that over the past three months the army has been drawing up plans, holding in-depth deliberations and carrying out critical analyses of past actions in the area. One issue that the army would have deliberated on is that of the peace accords drawn up in the past that only helped the militants gain respite from hostilities and a chance to reorganise. Another measure that has been taken to paralyse the militants in the area is the placement of an economic blockade since last June. This measure is said to have restricted supplies to the Taliban. It is hoped that it would further squeeze the fighting ability of the militants.

One of the fallouts of military operations is the plight of the internally displaced. In Waziristan it is estimated that tens of thousands of persons will be displaced due to the conflict. The IDPs would have to be given shelter and food in safer areas in Tank, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan. The experience of handling a large number of internal refugees from Malakand division during Rah-i-Raast should come in handy in the care of those displaced by the Waziristan operation.

Weather conditions could play a part in hampering free movement. In the Mehsud area snowfall commences at the end of November. Logistic support to troops would then be restricted. Such weather conditions could be advantageous to the militants, who have intimate knowledge of the terrain and unfrequented routes.

The battle for Waziristan has been characterised as the ‘mother of all battles’. The battle will take place over a formidable terrain covering 2,420 square kilometres. It will take a huge human toll. With the start of the operation the Taliban will try to ignite fires elsewhere in Pakistan as they already appear to be doing. More suicide attacks can be expected in large cities like Peshawar, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi. The epicentre of the Taliban and the Uzbek militants lies in South Waziristan. Thus for these militants it is a battle for existence.

The writer is a retired colonel.

DAWN.COM | Pakistan | The battle for Waziristan

 

[Xeric]

Pakistan army says it has killed 60 militants on first day of South Waziristan operation

Pakistan army says it has killed 60 militants on first day of South Waziristan operation

By Zarar Khan, Ap
October 18th, 2009

Pakistan claims 60 militants killed in operation

MIR ALI, Pakistan — Pakistan’s army claimed Sunday to have killed 60 militants on the first day of an operation against an al-Qaida and Taliban sanctuary close to the Afghan border that residents said was meeting stiff resistance from insurgents.

The army said six soldiers had also been killed in the opening salvoes of the push into South Waziristan.

It was not possible to independently verify those figures because reporters have been stopped from getting close to the battlefield.

The operation in South Waziristan follows repeated requests from the U.S. to take on the jihadists behind soaring terrorist attacks in the nuclear-armed nation, as well as al-Qaida and other extremists believed to be plotting strikes in the West.

It involves mostly poorly equipped Pakistani soldiers trained to fight conventional wars, not counterinsurgency operations, who have failed in three other campaigns in the mountainous region since 2004. Much of the region is under total Taliban control.

Accounts from residents and those fleeing Sunday suggested that the 30,000 troops were in for a bloodier time than in the Swat Valley, another northwestern region that the army successfully wrested away from insurgents earlier this year.

“Militants are offering very tough resistance to any movement of troops,” Ehsan Mahsud, a resident of Makeen, a town in the region, told The Associated Press in the town of Mir Ali, close to the battle zone. He and a friend arrived there early Sunday after traveling through the night.

Mahsud said the army appeared to be mostly relying on air strikes and artillery against militants occupying high ground. He said the insurgents were firing heavy machine guns at helicopter gunships, forcing the air force to use higher-flying jets.

The army is up against about 10,000 local militants and about 1,500 foreign fighters, most of them from Central Asia. They control roughly 1,275 square miles (3,310 square kilometers) of territory, or about half of South Waziristan, in areas loyal to former militant chief Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. missile strike in August.

Officials have said they envisage the operation will last two months, when winter weather will make fighting difficult.

A brief army statement said 60 militants had been killed, along with six soldiers, since Saturday. It said the army had secured high regions close to Razmak, where the army has had a base for several years, and destroyed six militant anti-aircraft gun positions.

A resident in Wana — the main town in South Waziristan and in the heart of Taliban-held territory — said the insurgents had left the town and were stationed on the borders of the region, determined to block any army advance.

“All the Taliban who used to be around here have gone to take their position to protect the Mehsud boundary,” Azamatullah Wazir said by phone Sunday. “The army will face difficulty to get in there.”

Intelligence officials said Saturday that the ground troops were advancing on two flanks and a northern front of a central part of South Waziristan controlled by the Mehsuds. The areas being surrounded include the insurgent bases of Ladha and Makeen, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to brief the media.

As many as 150,000 civilians — possibly more — have left in recent months after the army made clear it was planning an assault, but as many as 350,000 could still be in the region. The United Nations has been stockpiling relief supplies in a town near the region, but authorities are not expecting a major refugee crisis like the one that occurred during the offensive this year in the Swat Valley.

Over the last three months, the Pakistani air force has been bombing targets in South Waziristan, while the army has said it has sealed off many Taliban supply and escape routes. The military has been trying to secure the support of local tribal armies in the fight.

Rasool Dawar reported from Mir Ali, while Zarar Khan reported from Islamabad.

 

[Xeric]

Pakistan Army takes fight to Taliban in South Waziristan | csmonitor.com


Pakistan Army takes fight to Taliban in South Waziristan

Gen. David Petraeus, head of the US Central Command, is due to arrive in Islamabad on Monday for talks with Pakistani commanders.

By Issam Ahmed | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

from the October 18, 2009 edition

Islamabad, Pakistan - A three-pronged offensive deep into Taliban territory entered its second day on Sunday as heavy fighting between the Pakistan Army and the Taliban left 60 militants and six soldiers dead, according to officials.

Gen. David Petraeus, head of the US Central Command, is due to arrive in Islamabad on Monday for talks with Pakistani commanders regarding what observers have called the "mother of all battles," highlighting the importance Washington attaches to the offensive.

Codenamed "Rah-i-Nijat" or "The Path to Salvation," the operation is taking place in the Taliban heartland of South Waziristan, a barren, mountainous region spanning some 6,620 square kilometers. It has been described as an Al Qaeda safe haven where 80 percent of terrorist attacks in Pakistan are planned.

According to retired Brig. Shaukat Qadir, a military analyst, securing the territory will be crucial in preventing militants from carrying out the kind of deadly attacks that have killed more than 150 Pakistanis over the past two weeks.

"After [Swat Valley], this was the last bastion that was available to the terrorist structure in Pakistan. It means they will not have any territory they will be able to fall back upon," he says.

The country is also bracing for retaliatory attacks with major cities on high alert. Nearly 100 arrests of suspected terrorists were made in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Monday while a search operation was conducted in the vicinity of the Army's General Headquarters, which militants were able to successfully storm last week. In the eastern city of Lahore, three private schools were closed due to security threats.

Army encircles Taliban stronghold town

According to Express 24/7, a private news channel, the military is closing in on the town of Makeen, a militant stronghold in South Waziristan, from three directions: Razmak to the north, Shakai to the southwest, and Jandola to the southeast. The area is also being bombed according to reports.

The Army claims to have destroyed six anti-aircraft gun positions and numerous hideouts, though these claims have not been independently verified.

Two divisions, totaling 28,000 troops are engaged in the battle, while estimates of enemy numbers vary. There are thought to be between 10,000-20,000 Mehsud tribesmen behind their leader Hakimullah Mehsud, who is also chief of the Pakistani Taliban. In addition, there are believed to be a core of foreign fighters, predominantly Uzbek, who number in the hundreds and are crucial in giving Hakimullah an edge, according to Qadir, the analyst.

"They are basically out-sourced Al Qaeda fighters, they are dedicated and fierce and allow Hakimullah to stamp his authority," he says.

How this offensive will be different

The Army will be familiar with the terrain having conducted operations in South Waziristan in 2004, 2005 and 2008, only to later retreat or negotiate peace deals with the enemy.

However, unlike in those years, the Army will benefit from the backing of the public and soldiers no longer feel they are fighting a war that is not theirs, says Qadir. "In earlier incursions, you had an instance where 208 soldiers surrendered to only a handful of militants. It was a moral revolt – they felt it was [former military ruler] Musharraf's war," he says.

The military will also benefit from air cover, greater numbers, assistance from the United States in terms of night-vision equipment, and the fact it has managed to keep onboard other powerful militant commanders in the region, including Maulvi Nazir in South Waziristan and Hafiz Gul Bahadur in North Waziristan, who have pledged to remain neutral, says Dr. Rifaat Hussain, a security analyst at the Quaid-e-Azam university.

Still, their word cannot be entirely relied on given the fickle nature of militants loyalties. The enemy will be well dug in, on its home turf, and will benefit from a "short-supply line" from neighboring Afghanistan, adds Dr. Hussain.

Tens of thousands of refugees flee

The army will also be hoping to wrap-up the offensive before the onset of winter hampers troops and makes life unbearable for refugees fleeing the area. More than 100,000 residents have so far fled the fighting, Col. Basim Shahid of the Army support group told the media. A spokesperson for the United Nations told Express 24/7 that 21,000 refugees had been registered in the last five days alone.

A long, drawn out confrontation punctuated by ongoing terror attacks in major cities may also start to sap public opinion and lead to calls for a renewed cease-fire, according to some analysts.

Ayesha Siddiqa, author of "Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan's Military Economy" says that even if the military is eventually successful in its battle in the tribal regions, Pakistan will not be able to quell the threat of homegrown terrorism until it tackles the problem of militancy in southern Punjab. Militants from this region have long been trained by Pakistan's security forces to wage war in Kashmir but have in recent years developed deep links with Al Qaeda and the Taliban. They are still able to carry out their activities with relatively little scrutiny, she says.

Qadir, however, has a different view: "Southern Punjab is the hotbed of religious extremism. They provide fresh blood for the terrorists but the training for terrorists is in South Waziristan. There are no training facilities in Bahawalpur [a town in southern Punjab]."

 

[salman nedian]

Did baitullah or hakimullah ever fight a single russian or NATO solider in there lives

Have they done a single thing yet to help there "brothers" in afganistan

Do the real taliban with mullah omar support there terror attacks against the pakistani state

Exactly my point! That’s what I am trying to say that when actual Taliban are not supporting these terrorist activities than we should not call them ‘Taliban’. There are some points we need to clear so that the confusion can be removed from the minds of the people.

 

[air marshal]

60 terrorists killed, 5 soldiers embrace shahdat in Rah-e-Nijat:ISPR

ISLAMABAD Oct 18 (APP): During last 24 hours, 60 terrorists have been killed in operation Rah-e-Nijat while five security men lost their lives and 11 were wounded, said ISPR in a news release here Sunday.

The details revealed that on Jandola-Kotkai-Sararogha Axis, area upto Mandana, Kund and Tarakai feature has been secured by security forces and during the securing process reportedly 30 terrorists have been killed and many injured.

Two soldiers embraced shahdat and 4 others were injured during the operation.On Shakai-Kaniguram-Ladha Axis,Operation has progressed 7 km north of Shakai and features like Boya Narai and Wuzi Sar have been captured. Fighting is going around Sherwangi where around 20 terrorists have been reported killed and many others injured. During this episode one soldier embraced shahadat and 3 others were injured.

Important features and tactical heights around and south of Razmak have been secured by security forces where 10 terrorists were learnt to be killed while 2 soldiers embraced shahdat and 4 others injured including two officers.

During another effective advancement by the troops, six 12.7mm anti aircraft gun positions of terrorists were effectively engaged and destroyed in different areas and one 12.7 mm gun position was captured in Wuzi Sar area.

A lot of IEDs and mines were also recovered.

The security forces have also destroyed a number of vehicles which were under the use of terrorists. Due to security forces advance, terrorists are vacating their posts area leaving behind arms and ammunition.

Villages and hutments enroute the advance of troops are being cleared by security forces which are also conducting search and clearance operation, simultaneously.

Howeever, the civilian population is not being targeted as in some areas people (including women) raised white flags; they were left off after search.

As far as the operation Rah-e-Raast in Malakand and Sawat is concerned, the security forces conducted search operation at Kaldar Khwar and Mulla Banda Nullah near Fatehpur and Miandam and apprehended 4 terrorists besides recovering 9 caves of 12 feet length and 8 feet width.

Security forces conducted search operation at Mian Milli near Matta and recovered one 12.7 mm gun while in another search operation at Hamwarai near Khawazakhela, two terrorists were apprehended.

During search operation security forces discovered a cave at Tiligram and recovered few weapons from there.

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - 60 terrorists killed, 5 soldiers embrace shahdat in Rah-e-Nijat:ISPR

 

[Javed3]

Batmannow:

It is patently comic when wannabies like yourself wanna play “Bulwarks against the Fifth Column of the Enemy”!!! In this case the “Hidden Taliban”!. You are advised to join Rehman Miliks anti-terrorist Student force and earn a medal.

My point is simple. Don’t ruin the Army as it was ruined in East Pakistan fighting its own people.

 

[Javed3]

Xeric

“”However, unlike in those years, the Army will benefit from the backing of the public and soldiers no longer feel they are fighting a war that is not theirs, says Qadir. "In earlier incursions, you had an instance where 208 soldiers surrendered to only a handful of militants. It was a moral revolt – they felt it was [former military ruler] Musharraf's war," he says.””

It was neither Musharraf’s war, nor Kiyani’s war. It was and still is My **** America’s war.

The Big Boss General David H. Petraeus to check the efficiency and performance. I hope we score well!

By the way, the kind of stuff is incompatible with your high intellect “ Ok, another propagandist in our files....!!””

If you must play Vigilante, join Rehman Malik Student anti-terror intelligence.

 

[Javed3]

HAIDER
“”Todays news GEO camera caught something new...USAF f18 in Waziristan operation...Good to see US are helping PAF for operation clean up...””

That’s a good development. The US should fight its own ground war too, and not use our soldiers as gun fodder.

 

[Xeric]

Javed

So you want that we should stop fighting this "america's" war and sit idle.

But before we do that you have to do one thing. Send your family to any of the sites which can be likely a target of these beasts!

Agreed?

 

[batmannow]

Batmannow:

It is patently comic when wannabies like yourself wanna play “Bulwarks against the Fifth Column of the Enemy”!!! In this case the “Hidden Taliban”!. You are advised to join Rehman Miliks anti-terrorist Student force and earn a medal.

My point is simple. Don’t ruin the Army as it was ruined in East Pakistan fighting its own people.

Javed3;mr,


wannabies like yourself wanna play “Bulwarks against the Fifth Column of the Enemy”

i guss, its about time , that i must tell you, that this forum is very strict of personal attacks! so watch out.

In this case the “Hidden Taliban”!. You are advised to join Rehman Miliks anti-terrorist Student force and earn a medal.

for your kind information , i already got my , medal by serving my time in my country's defence, its not neccecry to , make it a public show, i guss peoples like you , who are affraid & cant see TTP going down , will argue everything & every action, which can bring , TTP DOWN, well i personally dont like Rehman Milik, but still he had purposed good idea, which can bring our youth , to be more vigillnt against TTP & OTHER CRIMINALS & sympathizers of TTP. ITS a good step, i personally dont belive , who says but , i belive what he said!

My point is simple. Don’t ruin the Army as it was ruined in East Pakistan fighting its own people

again , its way different, there is no way, it can happend again!
in simple , in 1971 we were not a N-POWWER, we hadnt had , much experince about countring terror, but now you can see , perfect impact in case of SAWAT, now what happened , they all run away, or got under the land, & that is thier future, in comming days. just belive it.

in the END, PLZ dont mess up peoples here, who you dont know, like Xeric , btw check his AVTR before , calling shots, he is very , very & very NASTY, & i guss you cant take the heat on.

 

[Muhammad Ahsan]

good post by every1

 

[XYON]

Talibaan is a generic term invented by the US Media to identify an enemy such as the Al-Qaeda. The Talibaan's have many layers out of which 98% are engaged in Afghanistan against the US (the invading force). The objective of operation RAH E NIJAAT is not to engage the greater layer but to only eliminate the irritant towards Pakistan i.e the Mehsuds who has been responsible for the terror attacks in Pakistan. Once Mehsud is dead and gone, Pakistan Army mission will be successful and complete. The other Talibaans, including Mullah Omer have already detached themselves from Mehsud and their activities in Pakistan. Our war is not with the entire Talibaan community per say but only the likes of Hakimullah and Waliullah and their prospective band of merry men from the Stans who are disillusioned to see Pakistan as their property or a 14th century kingdom!

To this effect an understanding has already been reached with the greater mass of the Talibaans operating out of Afghanistan and also with the other local Mehsud Tribes such as the Baytnees etc who are against the Mehsud domination.

 

[waraich66]

Talibaan is a generic term invented by the US Media to identify an enemy such as the Al-Qaeda. The Talibaan's have many layers out of which 98% are engaged in Afghanistan against the US (the invading force). The objective of operation RAH E NIJAAT is not to engage the greater layer but to only eliminate the irritant towards Pakistan i.e the Mehsuds who has been responsible for the terror attacks in Pakistan. Once Mehsud is dead and gone, Pakistan Army mission will be successful and complete. The other Talibaans, including Mullah Omer have already detached themselves from Mehsud and their activities in Pakistan. Our war is not with the entire Talibaan community per say but only the likes of Hakimullah and Waliullah and their prospective band of merry men from the Stans who are disillusioned to see Pakistan as their property or a 14th century kingdom!

To this effect an understanding has already been reached with the greater mass of the Talibaans operating out of Afghanistan and also with the other local Mehsud Tribes such as the Baytnees etc who are against the Mehsud domination.

Please update your self haqqani,Omer and hykmatyar decided to provide full support to mehsud tribes.

It is very dangerous satuation , now they can open many fronts and very difficult to control and defeat.

 

[All-Green]

Regarding any militant group supporting TTP, i have this much to say.

If anyone opposes the right of Pakistan to kill those terrorists who have been murdering its innocents...he is a clear cut enemy of Pakistan...no other way about it, long gone is the time of confusion and self denial...

It is ironic that we are jumping the gun regarding everyone but when it comes to the terrorists and their supporters who are so media savvy and practically public faces...we always are thinking about ways not to fight them...

Still we then wonder why our government cannot take care of these
troublemakers...the answer is simple...it is us...we have been the hypocrites...is it that hard to support our Army against terrorists and murderers who are proud of their work?
It should not be but it was in the past...thank god that majority of Pakistanis have now seen beyond the propaganda about what is the real threat facing us...

Anyways i say it is about time to be clear about the fight...
Whoever opposes this operation and engages Pak Fauj militarily in this operation will be our enemy...best time to see who is for Pakistan and who is not.
We can then make a comprehensive strategy knowing fully well which are the snakes in our sleeve and which are the true pro Pakistani factions, whoever they might be.

Now even Iran has protested with Pakistan about Jundullah...
I say it is about time we start ensuring that no scumbag is left capable of perpetrating such acts...or we shall be alone in the world shunned and ridiculed by all as the nation which supported its own executioner...
In the land of the pure, the terrorist has no place...