What is the logic of striking "deep inside Afghanistan" if there is Indian involvement?
We need to focus on cleaning our own house first.... let alone deep strikes into neighboring countries.
Operation Rah-e-Nijat (South Waziristan)
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What is the logic of striking "deep inside Afghanistan" if there is Indian involvement?
We need to focus on cleaning our own house first.... let alone deep strikes into neighboring countries.
TruthSeeker
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I hope that the action is not frustrated by excessive rear guard suicide bombings. How can theTTP come up with so many kids that blow themselves up? It's astounding. I will pray for the PA to be victorious and for their casualties to be small. Good luck to the PA! God speed!
Pakistan sets its sights on Taliban sanctuary
By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press Writer Kathy Gannon, Associated Press Writer
ISLAMABAD The Pakistani military is setting its sights on the Taliban's remote sanctuary after nearly two weeks of big bombings across the country, as hundreds flee the Afghan border region each day before what promises to be the army's riskiest offensive yet.
With the first snows of winter less than two months away, the army has limited time to mount a major ground attack. The U.S. is racing to send in night vision goggles and other equipment. The Pakistani military insists it's sealing off supply and escape routes, forcing the militants to rely on goat paths.
The army has tried three times since 2001 to dislodge Taliban fighters from their stronghold in South Waziristan, part of the lawless tribal area along the border. All three previous attempts ended in negotiated truces that left the Taliban in control.
This time, however, military spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas said there will be no negotiations for fear any deals would be seen as a failure and could jeopardize gains won last spring when Pakistani soldiers wrested control of the Swat Valley, elsewhere in the northwest.
"If we fail, everything is rolled back," Abbas said.
Failure would also deal a humiliating blow to government security forces. A series of assaults against government installations, including the army's general headquarters, has shown the Taliban along the mountainous border and their allies in the heart of the country are bolstering an alliance capable of challenging the Pakistani state.
The U.S. says the results of the South Waziristan campaign will also help determine the success of the faltering American war effort in Afghanistan. Militants use the Waziristan region as a base from which to launch attacks across the border and beyond.
"This region is at the heart of the struggle against al-Qaida, the Taliban, and other global jihadi movements. It is a lawless sanctuary for extremists and would-be militants of every shape, size, and color," said Evan Kohlmann, whose U.S.-based NEFA Foundation follows terrorist groups.
"It is perhaps the only place on earth where a mujahedeen commander from Uzbekistan can plausibly establish a hardened base of operations, staffed primarily by like-minded fighters of Turkish, Chinese, Danish, and German extraction," Kohlmann said. "Most of the jihad training camps frequented by foreign nationals and featured in al-Qaida and Taliban terror propaganda videos are located in either North or South Waziristan."
Foreigners require special permission to enter tribal areas. Many Pakistani journalists from other parts of the country are at risk in areas controlled by militants.
Abbas said the assault will be limited to slain Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud's holdings a swath of territory that stretches roughly 3,310 kilometers (1,275 square miles). That portion covers about half of South Waziristan, which itself is slightly larger than Delaware.
The plan is to capture and hold the area where Abbas estimates 10,000 insurgents are headquartered and reinforced with about 1,500 foreign fighters, most of them of Central Asian origin.
"There are Arabs, but the Arabs are basically in the leadership, providing resources and expertise and in the role of trainers," he said in an interview from the heavily fortified garrison town of Rawalpindi, where last weekend insurgents mounted an assault against army headquarters.
The army is preparing for the array of guerrilla tactics the Taliban are likely to employ, including ambushes, suicide attacks and improvised explosive devises.
"We are shaping the environment, isolating the target. We are blocking all entry and exit points, denying them availability of provisions, fuel and ammunition, forcing them to rely on goat tracks to resupply," Abbas said.
Despite sometimes rocky relations with the Pakistani military, the U.S. is trying to rush in equipment that would help with mobility, night fighting and precision bombing, a U.S. Embassy official told The Associated Press.
"If we could deliver things tomorrow, it would be here," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the issue is politically sensitive.
In addition to night vision devices, the Pakistan military has said it is seeking additional Cobra helicopter gunships, heliborne lift capability, laser-guided munitions and intelligence equipment to monitor cell and satellite telephones.
While Abbas was evasive about the timing of the offensive, he told the AP that it will begin with a ground assault against insurgent positions before winter snows block mountain roads.
"We have to come in before the snow," Abbas said. "It will start in the form of a conventional operation to push them out and regain space."
Once the offensive has started, a harsh winter and heavy snows can work to the army's advantage by driving fighters out of their unheated mountain hideouts, he said.
In no mood to wait, truckloads of families are fleeing their homes.
Amnesty International said Friday that its research teams in the area report 90,000 to 150,000 residents have fled South Waziristan since July, when the military began a long-range artillery and aerial bombardment in the region. The group faulted the government for failing to prepare adequate refugee camps.
Although the military has been hitting targets in South Waziristan for the past three months, it waited until two weeks ago to say it would definitely go ahead with a major ground offensive into the region.
What followed was a rash of major bombings that killed 175 people and demonstrated the militants' ability to attack cities across the county.
In the latest bombing, three suicide attackers, including a woman, struck a police station in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday, killing 13 people.
In cities rattled by the recent bombings, residents condemn insurgents while bemoaning what they see as a weak government unable to end the terror.
"Our inherent weaknesses, corruption, and inability to govern the country are now exposed fully. It's total chaos all over the country," said Saima Ahmed, a 33-year-old bank employee in the southern city of Karachi. "The government should ... come down heavily on the terrorists for once and for all."
Ref: news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091016/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan
By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press Writer Kathy Gannon, Associated Press Writer
ISLAMABAD The Pakistani military is setting its sights on the Taliban's remote sanctuary after nearly two weeks of big bombings across the country, as hundreds flee the Afghan border region each day before what promises to be the army's riskiest offensive yet.
With the first snows of winter less than two months away, the army has limited time to mount a major ground attack. The U.S. is racing to send in night vision goggles and other equipment. The Pakistani military insists it's sealing off supply and escape routes, forcing the militants to rely on goat paths.
The army has tried three times since 2001 to dislodge Taliban fighters from their stronghold in South Waziristan, part of the lawless tribal area along the border. All three previous attempts ended in negotiated truces that left the Taliban in control.
This time, however, military spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas said there will be no negotiations for fear any deals would be seen as a failure and could jeopardize gains won last spring when Pakistani soldiers wrested control of the Swat Valley, elsewhere in the northwest.
"If we fail, everything is rolled back," Abbas said.
Failure would also deal a humiliating blow to government security forces. A series of assaults against government installations, including the army's general headquarters, has shown the Taliban along the mountainous border and their allies in the heart of the country are bolstering an alliance capable of challenging the Pakistani state.
The U.S. says the results of the South Waziristan campaign will also help determine the success of the faltering American war effort in Afghanistan. Militants use the Waziristan region as a base from which to launch attacks across the border and beyond.
"This region is at the heart of the struggle against al-Qaida, the Taliban, and other global jihadi movements. It is a lawless sanctuary for extremists and would-be militants of every shape, size, and color," said Evan Kohlmann, whose U.S.-based NEFA Foundation follows terrorist groups.
"It is perhaps the only place on earth where a mujahedeen commander from Uzbekistan can plausibly establish a hardened base of operations, staffed primarily by like-minded fighters of Turkish, Chinese, Danish, and German extraction," Kohlmann said. "Most of the jihad training camps frequented by foreign nationals and featured in al-Qaida and Taliban terror propaganda videos are located in either North or South Waziristan."
Foreigners require special permission to enter tribal areas. Many Pakistani journalists from other parts of the country are at risk in areas controlled by militants.
Abbas said the assault will be limited to slain Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud's holdings a swath of territory that stretches roughly 3,310 kilometers (1,275 square miles). That portion covers about half of South Waziristan, which itself is slightly larger than Delaware.
The plan is to capture and hold the area where Abbas estimates 10,000 insurgents are headquartered and reinforced with about 1,500 foreign fighters, most of them of Central Asian origin.
"There are Arabs, but the Arabs are basically in the leadership, providing resources and expertise and in the role of trainers," he said in an interview from the heavily fortified garrison town of Rawalpindi, where last weekend insurgents mounted an assault against army headquarters.
The army is preparing for the array of guerrilla tactics the Taliban are likely to employ, including ambushes, suicide attacks and improvised explosive devises.
"We are shaping the environment, isolating the target. We are blocking all entry and exit points, denying them availability of provisions, fuel and ammunition, forcing them to rely on goat tracks to resupply," Abbas said.
Despite sometimes rocky relations with the Pakistani military, the U.S. is trying to rush in equipment that would help with mobility, night fighting and precision bombing, a U.S. Embassy official told The Associated Press.
"If we could deliver things tomorrow, it would be here," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the issue is politically sensitive.
In addition to night vision devices, the Pakistan military has said it is seeking additional Cobra helicopter gunships, heliborne lift capability, laser-guided munitions and intelligence equipment to monitor cell and satellite telephones.
While Abbas was evasive about the timing of the offensive, he told the AP that it will begin with a ground assault against insurgent positions before winter snows block mountain roads.
"We have to come in before the snow," Abbas said. "It will start in the form of a conventional operation to push them out and regain space."
Once the offensive has started, a harsh winter and heavy snows can work to the army's advantage by driving fighters out of their unheated mountain hideouts, he said.
In no mood to wait, truckloads of families are fleeing their homes.
Amnesty International said Friday that its research teams in the area report 90,000 to 150,000 residents have fled South Waziristan since July, when the military began a long-range artillery and aerial bombardment in the region. The group faulted the government for failing to prepare adequate refugee camps.
Although the military has been hitting targets in South Waziristan for the past three months, it waited until two weeks ago to say it would definitely go ahead with a major ground offensive into the region.
What followed was a rash of major bombings that killed 175 people and demonstrated the militants' ability to attack cities across the county.
In the latest bombing, three suicide attackers, including a woman, struck a police station in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday, killing 13 people.
In cities rattled by the recent bombings, residents condemn insurgents while bemoaning what they see as a weak government unable to end the terror.
"Our inherent weaknesses, corruption, and inability to govern the country are now exposed fully. It's total chaos all over the country," said Saima Ahmed, a 33-year-old bank employee in the southern city of Karachi. "The government should ... come down heavily on the terrorists for once and for all."
Ref: news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091016/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan
PakShaheen79
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Top leadership gives final go-ahead on South Waziristan operation
PM Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani chaired a high-level meeting in the PM House in Islamabad in which law and order situation and Waziristan operation were reviewed, Dunya News reported on Friday. According to latest reports, it is decided to start the operation ‘Rah-e-Nijaat’ in South Waziristan from Sunday night. The Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani will address the nation before the start of the operation and take the nation into confidence, sources revealed. Curfew would be imposed in South Waziristan including Wana bazaar from Saturday morning. The decision is taken due to the wave of terrorist attacks in the country. A large number of tribesmen are leaving their houses in South Waziristan to various areas of nearby Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and North Waziristan.
Talking to media after the meeting, Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said that Army Chief General Pervaiz Kayani briefed the participants about the Waziristan operation in the meeting. He told that GHQ attack and other recent attacks on security facilities were also discussed. He said that the participants lauded the performance of security forces against terrorists. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi briefed the participants about Kerry-Lugar Bill, he said.
Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, MQM leader Farooq Sattar, PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani, ANP leader Asfandiyar Wali Khan, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali, NWFP Governor and NWFP CM were also present in the meeting.
http://www.dunyanews.tv/newsite/eng/main_category_eng.php?nid=7167&catid=2&flag=d
PM Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani chaired a high-level meeting in the PM House in Islamabad in which law and order situation and Waziristan operation were reviewed, Dunya News reported on Friday. According to latest reports, it is decided to start the operation ‘Rah-e-Nijaat’ in South Waziristan from Sunday night. The Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani will address the nation before the start of the operation and take the nation into confidence, sources revealed. Curfew would be imposed in South Waziristan including Wana bazaar from Saturday morning. The decision is taken due to the wave of terrorist attacks in the country. A large number of tribesmen are leaving their houses in South Waziristan to various areas of nearby Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and North Waziristan.
Talking to media after the meeting, Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said that Army Chief General Pervaiz Kayani briefed the participants about the Waziristan operation in the meeting. He told that GHQ attack and other recent attacks on security facilities were also discussed. He said that the participants lauded the performance of security forces against terrorists. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi briefed the participants about Kerry-Lugar Bill, he said.
Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, MQM leader Farooq Sattar, PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani, ANP leader Asfandiyar Wali Khan, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali, NWFP Governor and NWFP CM were also present in the meeting.
http://www.dunyanews.tv/newsite/eng/main_category_eng.php?nid=7167&catid=2&flag=d
I imagine a full-scale assault by the P.A. into the Islamic Emirate of Waziristan will draw every irhabista from Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Nangahar, Nuristan, and Konar.
No choice if their strategic rear, sanctuary, and supply/logistics nodes will be defended. Remember Bajaur? A.M. was correct that it damned near emptied Konar for a few weeks as Rehman and others brought hundreds back across to fight the P.A.
Thanks and good luck to your troops.
It's still not too late to mine the border.
pakdefender
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The US and NATO is hoping to see Pakistan Army get entalgled in a sh!ithole like they are in afghanistan.
With no clear objectives they cannot have a clear vicotry.
We need to set much more clear targets and objectives than their political leader ship has set out for NATO and US forces.
This opearation should be a 'seek and destroy' , nothing more nothing less
With no clear objectives they cannot have a clear vicotry.
We need to set much more clear targets and objectives than their political leader ship has set out for NATO and US forces.
This opearation should be a 'seek and destroy' , nothing more nothing less
S-2
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"The US and NATO is hoping to see Pakistan Army get entalgled in a sh!ithole like they are in afghanistan."
Horsecrap. Nobody is wishing ill on your forces nor their operations.
As to us, our problems are political. The extremely modest casualties suffered by American/ISAF forces after eight years are very sustainable by themselves. We, in fact, kick azz wherever we make contact with any whom choose to fight and do so whether CAS shows up or not.
Those are simple and verifiable facts.
The political issues in Afghanistan will defeat our efforts if that is to be the outcome. Not the battlefield. Not unusual in an insurgency either. Those same factors will ultimately decide Pakistan's fate as well.
Your forces fight well. SWAT is a clear example of that. Yet even in SWAT, the battle remains and it has to some extent moved even further afield. None of that has anything to do with the combat performance of your men and has MUCH to do with the political environment in which they operate.
There's an eagerness here to crow for your army and crow, independantly, against western forces adjacent. Very fan-boyish and ignores the realities of coalition and insurgent war. A more sober and mature perspective might help some to see events more clearly.
Make your choices. If, by the way, you are eager to see a NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, then I encourage you to buy a weapon and ammo and then point it at yourselves.
The net effect shall be the same. A talibanized Afghanistan shall be Pakistan's undoing in all liklihood. I know that a goodly number here hope for BOTH those outcomes.
Be careful for what you wish.
Horsecrap. Nobody is wishing ill on your forces nor their operations.
As to us, our problems are political. The extremely modest casualties suffered by American/ISAF forces after eight years are very sustainable by themselves. We, in fact, kick azz wherever we make contact with any whom choose to fight and do so whether CAS shows up or not.
Those are simple and verifiable facts.
The political issues in Afghanistan will defeat our efforts if that is to be the outcome. Not the battlefield. Not unusual in an insurgency either. Those same factors will ultimately decide Pakistan's fate as well.
Your forces fight well. SWAT is a clear example of that. Yet even in SWAT, the battle remains and it has to some extent moved even further afield. None of that has anything to do with the combat performance of your men and has MUCH to do with the political environment in which they operate.
There's an eagerness here to crow for your army and crow, independantly, against western forces adjacent. Very fan-boyish and ignores the realities of coalition and insurgent war. A more sober and mature perspective might help some to see events more clearly.
Make your choices. If, by the way, you are eager to see a NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, then I encourage you to buy a weapon and ammo and then point it at yourselves.
The net effect shall be the same. A talibanized Afghanistan shall be Pakistan's undoing in all liklihood. I know that a goodly number here hope for BOTH those outcomes.
Be careful for what you wish.
Dear,
your military leadership sounded more optimistic on pacifying E PAK within 7 days but forgot to calculate Pakistani break-up scheme wasn't E ****s brain-child rather it was conceived, nurtured outside of that territory. Do you not see the replica of it with E Pak's failure? I would be loved to be proved wrong but since after every single assessment and prediction of patriotic analyst's coming true, I tend to stay as a conspiracy theorist in tunnel-visionary, deflationists eyes. If I were to go by the chronology of developments since Lal Masjids massacre, wouldn't it be like some Chinese brothels were given rise for Lal Masjid's puritan-students to come out for protest that led Mush sending SSGs with white phosphorus to kill around 1400 innocent students, which angered pushtun/SWATis that was hijacked by INDO-ZION to make them anti-Pakistani suicide bombers? What came after that? Wasn't it PAK army's opps against SWATies? Did its pacification stop suicide bombing/attack or gave it a bigger rise? And you expect SWA opp would make the situation better? The enemy that broke PAK in 71 was again hell-bent on breaking PAK again by putting army against pushtun like they made army to go after Bengalis. IT WOULD BE CHAIN OF REACTIONS THAT WAS KNOWN AS HEGELIAN DIALECTS (What is the Hegelian Dialectic?), CREATIVE DESTRUCTION (Creative destruction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) OF NEW-CONS. During SWAT opp, an influx of huge IDPs would create more problems on national fabric on already internally turmoil PAK. Then NGO, Medias and spies would jump to invent PAK army's massacre on pustun to create global outcry for new Pushtunistan that would lead a chain of events like international arm embargo on PAK-MIL, attack from both east and western sides which would end the BIG GAME, I.E. losing Kashmir to IND and NWFP to AF and the creation of new Baluchistan.
The ideal remedy would be to mine the PAK-AF border then fence it along with creating military posts. Simultaneously running the combing, intelligent, Media and academic opps to neutralize TTPs, their supply-routes of arms, communication and foods. In the mean time GOP needs to take OIC and China, Ruskies in confidence to wrestle back AF from IND-ISRO-War party. If GOP can do that them TTP walas would die over time otherwise wait for Khuda Hafiz (Hope never happens though) of PAK.
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"...Hekmatyar working under Omar..."
I'm surprised by your comment about Hekmatyar and Omar. They are not friends nor does Hekmatyar subordinate his operations under Omar.
You are probably too young to recall that the ISI dumped Hekmatyar in favor of the afghan taliban and Omar back about 1995.
An odd comment, to be sure. Revealing, though, to your fundamental
lol
understanding-or, more accurately, lack therein.
I'm surprised by your comment about Hekmatyar and Omar. They are not friends nor does Hekmatyar subordinate his operations under Omar.
You are probably too young to recall that the ISI dumped Hekmatyar in favor of the afghan taliban and Omar back about 1995.
An odd comment, to be sure. Revealing, though, to your fundamental
lol understanding-or, more accurately, lack therein.
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ISLAMABAD: The countrys top civil and military command and most of the major opposition parties leaders decided in principle on Friday to launch a military operation in South Waziristan, terming it imperative to eliminating terrorism and extremism from the country.
According to sources, participants of a meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, agreed that a recent spate of suicide bombings in different parts of the country had roots in South Waziristan and suicide bombings and terrorist attacks could not be curbed without crushing terrorists leaders hiding in tribal areas.
Chief of Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, gave a detailed briefing and the meeting is reported to have decided about the timing of the operation, but it was not officially disclosed to the media.
According to the sources, the operation might be launched within 24 hours. President Asif Ali Zardari did not attend, but he had discussed the matter with Prime Minister Gilani shortly before the meeting.
Security sources said it was going to be a three-pronged operation supervised by the corps commander concerned with the aim to block all routes of militants present in the region, particularly the Mehsud area.
The operation will be supported by the air power, including helicopter gunships and jet bombers. The army has reportedly sent two divisions totalling 28,000 men and blocked different routes in the area.
Analysts said an immediate push would be needed with winter approaching. It was learnt that military authorities had completed all arrangements for the operation. Over 8,000 families of South Waziristan moved to Dera Ismail Khan on Friday to seek shelter.
There was no significant opposition to the operation in the meeting, except some concerns expressed by leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-N. A source quoted PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar as saying: 'We were invited to discuss the law and order situation, but the whole discussion focused on South Waziristan.'
The army chief said the situation had become so dangerous because of terrorist activities being planned in South Waziristan that a military operation had become unavoidable.
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha briefed the meeting about intelligence reports and said: 'You cannot imagine how many people are on the hit list of terrorists.
They are not only important personalities and politicians but some ordinary people in different professions.' Interior Minister Rehman Malik gave a separate briefing when Chaudhry Nisar asked why the operation had become necessary.
He presented an overall picture of militant organisations and their activities in South Waziristan and claimed that not only the current spate of terrorist attacks, but also those that took place in the past had links with Taliban in the region. The PML-Q supported the decision to launch the operation.
'We condemn slaughter of innocent people by terrorists and support any operation to be launched in South Waziristan,' said the partys chief, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.
A PML-Q leader, Ameer Muqam, said the meeting had extended complete support to the army in the war against terror.
'Our forces are fighting against militancy and we know that there is no other way to deal with the situation.'
In reply to a question, he said the timing of the operation would depend on the government, its resources and the military authorities, 'but one clear message the political leadership gave in the meeting is that the entire nation is behind the army in this war'.
The meeting was attended by Awami National Partys Asfandyar Wali Khan, PML-Ns Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Muttahida Qaumi Movements Dr Farooq Sattar, Balochistan National Party-As Senator Israrullah Zehri, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao of the Pakistan Peoples Party-S, Munir Khan Orakzai from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Mian Raza Rabbani of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Pir Sadruddin Shah of the PML-F, Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl), Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira, NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani, Chief Minister Amir Haidar Khan Hoti, the chief of the Intelligence Bureau and other officials.
'It has always been our stand that whatever resources and economic support are required would be given in the war on terror,'
Senator Rabbani of the PPP said.The meeting decided that the writ of the government would never be compromised in any part of the country.
'There was consensus that all efforts to eradicate extremism and terrorism will be taken forward,' Rabbani said.
The army has spent months softening targets in the region with air strikes, but refuses to set a timeframe for a ground offensive.
A handout said the political leadership noted that there already existed an across-the-board consensus to root out extremism and restore the writ of the state.
The leadership acknowledged the armys successes in Malakand and Swat, condemned the recent upsurge of terror incidents and agreed that militancy posed a serious threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the state.
In the given circumstances, the national consensus was reaffirmed to establish and maintain the writ of the state and weed out those elements.
The sources said that the first draft of the statement was rejected on the suggestion of the army chief, who wanted some applause for the armed forces personnel who had sacrificed their lives in the war on terror.
'The political leadership assembled together appreciated the sacrifices and the ongoing efforts of the Pakistan Army in this regard,' the handout said.
DAWN.COM
According to sources, participants of a meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, agreed that a recent spate of suicide bombings in different parts of the country had roots in South Waziristan and suicide bombings and terrorist attacks could not be curbed without crushing terrorists leaders hiding in tribal areas.
Chief of Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, gave a detailed briefing and the meeting is reported to have decided about the timing of the operation, but it was not officially disclosed to the media.
According to the sources, the operation might be launched within 24 hours. President Asif Ali Zardari did not attend, but he had discussed the matter with Prime Minister Gilani shortly before the meeting.
Security sources said it was going to be a three-pronged operation supervised by the corps commander concerned with the aim to block all routes of militants present in the region, particularly the Mehsud area.
The operation will be supported by the air power, including helicopter gunships and jet bombers. The army has reportedly sent two divisions totalling 28,000 men and blocked different routes in the area.
Analysts said an immediate push would be needed with winter approaching. It was learnt that military authorities had completed all arrangements for the operation. Over 8,000 families of South Waziristan moved to Dera Ismail Khan on Friday to seek shelter.
There was no significant opposition to the operation in the meeting, except some concerns expressed by leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-N. A source quoted PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar as saying: 'We were invited to discuss the law and order situation, but the whole discussion focused on South Waziristan.'
The army chief said the situation had become so dangerous because of terrorist activities being planned in South Waziristan that a military operation had become unavoidable.
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha briefed the meeting about intelligence reports and said: 'You cannot imagine how many people are on the hit list of terrorists.
They are not only important personalities and politicians but some ordinary people in different professions.' Interior Minister Rehman Malik gave a separate briefing when Chaudhry Nisar asked why the operation had become necessary.
He presented an overall picture of militant organisations and their activities in South Waziristan and claimed that not only the current spate of terrorist attacks, but also those that took place in the past had links with Taliban in the region. The PML-Q supported the decision to launch the operation.
'We condemn slaughter of innocent people by terrorists and support any operation to be launched in South Waziristan,' said the partys chief, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.
A PML-Q leader, Ameer Muqam, said the meeting had extended complete support to the army in the war against terror.
'Our forces are fighting against militancy and we know that there is no other way to deal with the situation.'
In reply to a question, he said the timing of the operation would depend on the government, its resources and the military authorities, 'but one clear message the political leadership gave in the meeting is that the entire nation is behind the army in this war'.
The meeting was attended by Awami National Partys Asfandyar Wali Khan, PML-Ns Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Muttahida Qaumi Movements Dr Farooq Sattar, Balochistan National Party-As Senator Israrullah Zehri, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao of the Pakistan Peoples Party-S, Munir Khan Orakzai from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Mian Raza Rabbani of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Pir Sadruddin Shah of the PML-F, Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl), Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira, NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani, Chief Minister Amir Haidar Khan Hoti, the chief of the Intelligence Bureau and other officials.
'It has always been our stand that whatever resources and economic support are required would be given in the war on terror,'
Senator Rabbani of the PPP said.The meeting decided that the writ of the government would never be compromised in any part of the country.
'There was consensus that all efforts to eradicate extremism and terrorism will be taken forward,' Rabbani said.
The army has spent months softening targets in the region with air strikes, but refuses to set a timeframe for a ground offensive.
A handout said the political leadership noted that there already existed an across-the-board consensus to root out extremism and restore the writ of the state.
The leadership acknowledged the armys successes in Malakand and Swat, condemned the recent upsurge of terror incidents and agreed that militancy posed a serious threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the state.
In the given circumstances, the national consensus was reaffirmed to establish and maintain the writ of the state and weed out those elements.
The sources said that the first draft of the statement was rejected on the suggestion of the army chief, who wanted some applause for the armed forces personnel who had sacrificed their lives in the war on terror.
'The political leadership assembled together appreciated the sacrifices and the ongoing efforts of the Pakistan Army in this regard,' the handout said.
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Let cut the crap right here, its not Pashtun and Punjabi conflict. No one doing operation against Pashtun. Pak army compose of more then 30 percent Pashtuns. And main operators of Lal masjid were from south Punjab and all died.
Well, after Punjabi, Pashtun is greatest majority. If they want to create Pashtunistan, no one would mind it, cuz they are in every provice. That would be whole Pakistan.
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A report in Dawn suggested that PA forces had been deployed between Mehsud territory and Afghanistan, which I take to be Maulvi Nazir territory.
No mention of how large the forces deployed, but given the terrain will likely not be enough to seal off escape routes without Maulvi Nazir (or the SW Wazir Tribal elders) and Gul Bahadur (or the Uthmanzai Wazir elders of NW). The Waziri elders from SW have in the past supported the GoP, and played a role in convincing Nazir to kick out the Uzbeks and refrain from fighting the State, so I suspect blocking the escape route into SW Waziri territory will be the easier of the two.
Gul Bahadur's loyalty/sincerity especially is suspect, given his actions in ambushing the PA convoy (killing 20+ soldiers) and kidnapping the Ramak cadet college students (Children, from the tribes of his own agency!) during a time when a peace deal was in place.
If SW is overrun, the leadership of these rats will likely escape to NW, and a year or two from now, barring a roadmap to stability in Afghanistan, NW will likely be in Pakistan's cross-hairs the way Waziristan is today.
No mention of how large the forces deployed, but given the terrain will likely not be enough to seal off escape routes without Maulvi Nazir (or the SW Wazir Tribal elders) and Gul Bahadur (or the Uthmanzai Wazir elders of NW). The Waziri elders from SW have in the past supported the GoP, and played a role in convincing Nazir to kick out the Uzbeks and refrain from fighting the State, so I suspect blocking the escape route into SW Waziri territory will be the easier of the two.
Gul Bahadur's loyalty/sincerity especially is suspect, given his actions in ambushing the PA convoy (killing 20+ soldiers) and kidnapping the Ramak cadet college students (Children, from the tribes of his own agency!) during a time when a peace deal was in place.
If SW is overrun, the leadership of these rats will likely escape to NW, and a year or two from now, barring a roadmap to stability in Afghanistan, NW will likely be in Pakistan's cross-hairs the way Waziristan is today.
I'm afraid that you're misidentifying the 'CRAP' and bound to eat it up after the dust settled. And I don't even think that you have read my post properly. No where in my post, I've sounded like Bharat-Rakhrakkers and claim it is a Punjabi-Pashtun conflict. Moreover, PAK army composition is well-known to non-Bharat-Rakkhakers, so no need to tell me about 30% pashtuns inhabiting it, please. See, it is not; who want to create Pashtunistan like it was not us Bengalis that knew widely Bangladesh was coming even before 26th March's storm. So, please read the post to find out that the idea is being vehemently pushed from outside. And if you haven't got the message yet then here is more for you from the pushers, planners
(Neoconservative author Michael Ledeen argued in his 2002 book The War against the Terror Masters that America is a revolutionary nation, undoing traditional societies: "Creative destruction is our middle name, both within our own society and abroad. We tear down the old order every day, from business to science, literature, art, architecture, and cinema to politics and the law." His characterization of creative destruction as a model for social development has met with fierce opposition from pale conservatives. [8]). Finally, weren't Maulana Abdur Rashid Gazi a Majari and the most of the students were from SWAT, BUNAR and DIR ((Most of the students of the madrassa attached to the Lal Masjid belonged to Swat, Buner and Dir areas of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and were now extracting their revenge, Dawn Monday quoted Maulana Abdul Aziz, who was released last month after spending almost two years in jail, as saying.
I had warned the then government not to go for the military operation on the mosque otherwise the situation would get out of control and I will not be responsible for the reaction, he said.
Most of my students belonged to Swat, Buner, Dir and some nearby areas and they are reacting and taking revenge of the blood of their relatives and friends, Aziz added. Taliban avenging Lal Masjid assault: cleric)) in Lal Masjid?
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