Operation Rah-e-Nijat (South Waziristan)

[ejaz007]

Politicians assure full support to Army
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Kayani briefs parliamentary party leaders on security situation, action plan in wake of surge in terrorism

By Asim Yasin

ISLAMABAD: The top political leadership of the country on Friday backed the military leadership to take all necessary actions to arrest the new wave of extremism and militancy in the country. It reaffirmed national consensus to establish and maintain the writ of the state and weed out terrorists and militants.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani had invited the parliamentary party leaders of all political parties for a briefing on the evolving national security situation of the country and to chart out a security action plan to weed out terrorism and militancy at the Prime Minister House.

The meeting, held in-camera for four-and-a-half-hour, was given a detailed briefing regarding the security situation of the country by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

The meeting was attended by PML-Q President Senator Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Engineer Amir Muqam, ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan, PML-N leaders, including Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Convener MQM Rabita Committee Dr Farooq Sattar, President BNP-A Senator Israrullah Zehri, President PPP-S Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, leader of parliamentarians from Fata Munir Khan Orakzai, Chairman Parliamentary Committee on National Security Mian Raza Rabbani, Pir Sadruddin Shah of the PML-F and Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani of the JUI-F.

Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister for Interior Rehman Malik, Governor NWFP Awais Ahmed Ghani, Chief Minister NWFP Amir Haidar Khan Hoti, the DG ISI, the DG IB and other senior government officials were also present during the meeting.

It was the 4th briefing on security-related issues to the national political leadership by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.The meeting was held in the wake of a series of bomb blasts and attacks on important government buildings, including the General Headquarters.

According to an official announcement, released after the meeting, COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani gave a detailed briefing on the prevailing national security situation and its future ramifications to the political leadership.

Director General ISI Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha briefed the meeting on the threats and measures to counter them.It says the political leadership, assembled together, noted that there already existed an across-the-board consensus in the country to root out extremism and militancy while restoring the writ of the state.

The political leadership observed that in spite of the successes in Malakand and Swat, the recent upsurge in terror incidents across the country was condemned and it was agreed that these elements posed a serious threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the state.

The political leadership appreciated the sacrifices and the ongoing efforts of the Army in this regard.In the given circumstances, national consensus was reaffirmed to establish and maintain the writ of the state to weed out these elements.

Meanwhile, talking to newsmen outside the Prime Minister House at the conclusion of the meeting, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said the political leadership was taken into confidence on the overall security situation of the country.

He said the participants discussed in detail the prevailing situation (of the country) and measures needed to address it effectively.Replying to a question, the minister said there was already consensus on the issue of terrorism and the meeting discussed futuristic details. He said the participants appreciated the services being rendered by the armed forces in fighting the menace of extremism and terrorism.

Politicians assure full support to Army

 

[ejaz007]

11 terrorists killed in SWA operation
Updated at: 2030 PST, Saturday, October 17, 2009


WANA: Fighter jets of security forces pounded militants’ positions in South Wazirisitan, killing 11 terrorists and destroying 2 hideouts during the ongoing military operation on Saturday.

Two security personnel were martyred and five injured in two separate attacks in SWA, sources said.

According to details, a security man was martyred and three others injured in a remote detonated bomb attack on a vehicle of security forces in Karkunray area near Jandola in SWA. The military forces repulsed and pounded militants’ positions in Karkunray with the help of fighter jets. As a result, 11 terrorists were killed and 8 others injured. Two militants’ hideouts were also destroyed.

Meanwhile, the military’s planes also targeted suspected positions of militants in Tehsil Ladha and Sarvekai.

The militants attacked FC’s convoy in Razmak area of SWA, killing one security man and severely wounding two more.

Political administration has said that the military’s infantry have begun operation against terrorists from three sides.

It said over 4000 to 5000 terrorists are present in the area, most of them are hiding in Mehsud area.

11 terrorists killed in SWA operation

 

[courageneverdies]

Govt. and army in total conformity over security situation: Chief Minister​

PESHAWAR, Oct 17 (APP):

A high level meeting on Law and Order with NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haidar Khan Hoti in the chair Friday here reviewed in detail matters regarding peace and stability in the country in general and in the province in particular and the new wave of terrorism in Peshawar. All the Commissioners and DIGs discussed in detail about the needs of situations of law and order regarding terrorism and present circumstances of their concerned areas.

Matters regarding the circumstances aroused due to government steps for the elimination of terrorism particularly the arrival of IDPs, their look after, rehabilitation and other effects have also been reviewed during the meeting.

Recommendations for capacity building of police force also surfaced during the meeting and important decisions were taken.

Addressing the meeting Ameer Haidar Khan Hoti said practically we are at war front and in such circumstances situations, environment and requirements alter automatically and we can’t anticipate normal conditions.

Today the nation and the country are facing critical and testing times and there is a need that we all should fulfill our responsibilities in comparatively better manner, Mr. Hoti asserted.

He lauded the spirit and courage of police officers and authorities of other security agencies present on the occasion. He said the purpose of the meeting is to consult the accountable people in order to take benefit of their suggestions and recommendations for devising better plan for effectively tackling the situations.

He expressed satisfaction that Allah has bestowed him such courageous and daring team.

He informed the meeting which was chaired by the Prime Minister and in which the army briefed the political leadership about the security conditions. He said presently an exemplary relationship and complete consensus exist between the army and the democratic government in the country.

He assured that his government would provide resources for the capacity building of police force even at the cost of delaying developmental activities adding that the major portion of the package worth 24 billion rupees would be utilized for this purpose, he maintained.

Moreover, police force in districts of Peshawar would be strengthened in respect of infrastructure, training and modern equipment and weapons as per arrangements of resources. He expressed the hope that major portion of the expected foreign aid would be utilized for the needs of NWFP, FATA and Balochistan.

He stressed on further betterment in security arrangements in the whole province and effective intelligence system amongst law enforcement agencies.

Addressing the meeting senior Provincial Ministers Bashir Ahmad Bilour, Rahim Dad Khan, Minister for Information and Public Relations Mian Iftekhar Hussain stressed on the transparent distribution of financial assistance and better look after of the IDPs.

They appealed the law enforcement agencies and the people to remain alert for facing any sort of circumstances and get ready for the elimination of terrorists.

Earlier, the Chief Minister formally inaugurated the newly constructed D block of Civil Secretariat.

Chief Secretary Javed Iqbal, Special Secretary Home Fayaz Toru, IG Police Malik Navid Khan and all Regional Commissioners, DIGs, CCPO Liaqat Ali Khan and authorities of other law enforcement agencies were in attendance.

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - Govt. and army in total conformity over security situation: Chief Minister

----

KIT Out

 

[Javed3]

Dear Taimikhan:

That was excellent and highly informative post. Very well researched!!.

My key concern is here:
“”If you remember in 2001 crises, the whole army was nearly mobilized in 2 weeks time, even the far flung formations of Quetta & Peshawar reached the borders””.
In a future crisis Pak Army may not have the flexibility to move formations from Swat, Bajaur, and Waziristan to the Eastern border.

Also remember that FC elements, Bajaur Scouts, Chitral Scouts, and Tochi Scouts were deployed in the Northern areas during the 1971 war. Such a backup may not be available in a future conflict.

Situation of Army Aviation is cause for serious concern. The aircrew issues can probably be resolved through aggressive induction / training in 2-3 years. Fleet utilization profile of Mi-17’s, Bell-412, AH-1’s in this phoney war is such that fatigue cycles are accumulating like hell. The AH-1 fleet is by now almost useless for sustained anti armor operations against India. We have been just too meek and undemanding to our customer (USA). It would make sense to demand at least 100 AH-1 and possible AH-64.

“”Come on yaar itnaa bhi stupid & underestimate naa karo PA ko””
I don’t think PA is stupid. It is just a bit too JAZBATI in carrying out its US assigned duty. As for foresight and planning PA has not done terribly well. Please read this article by Air Cdr (R) Kaiser Tufail:
Aeronaut: Kargil Conflict and Pakistan Air Force

 

[PAFAce]

AM

Nope am not forgetting the same ...... but remembering the subsequent displacement which had potential of further consolidation of the Talibs within the local populance (IDPs) in terms of difficulty in detection etc.

And now the tempo of attacks is much higher .....

Because the Taleban are a lot more desperate this time around. They are specifically targeting populated areas to maximize damage and public outroar, but still close enough to security posts so that they can claim they are only opposed to the security forces. This wave of attack was expected from the Taleban, but what I didn't expect was for them to come out first. I thought they would wait until the formal declaration of the operation before attacking, hence strengthening their case for "self-defence".

Also, last time around, the IDPs were screened before they came in. But I agree, the threat remains, and I am sure the military has thought of that possibility as well. The thing is, we are not trying to wipe out Taleban from the entire country, because it's impossible to do that. We are trying to destroy their HQ, command and control networks, so that they may become incapacitated for the most part. The clean-up of Taleban-ism will take years, maybe even decades, so if a few foot soldiers of the Taleban escape, they can't do much damage without any leadership.

 

[ejaz007]

US ramps up direct mly aid to Pakistan
Saturday, October 17, 2009


WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is ramping up delivery of military equipment long sought by the Pakistani Army to fight militants, US officials said on Friday.

Some $200 million worth of equipment and services already in the pipeline for Pakistan has started to arrive but officials declined to provide full details, saying many of the more sophisticated items were classified.

Some programmes have run into resistance from Islamabad, which is wary of appearing too close to Washington, they said. The US military aid is meant to help Pakistan mount a long-awaited ground offensive against Taliban fighters in their South Waziristan stronghold along the border with Afghanistan, where US and Nato forces are fighting a growing insurgency.

Hit by string of brazen militant attacks in the past 11 days that have killed about 150 people, Islamabad says a ground offensive by its troops is imminent. “Each one of these attacks is troublesome,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said, adding “But the Pakistan government remains committed to addressing the threat there.” Direct military aid from the Pentagon, officials said, would come on top of the equipment that Pakistan receives through normal foreign military sales overseen by the State Department.

Officials say those sales vary year to year but generally total around $300 million annually. The US government aid is a highly contentious issue in Pakistan, where anti-American sentiment runs high, and Islamabad has thrown up obstacles to some of the Pentagon’s proposals, including one to expand counter-insurgency training for the Frontier Corps paramilitary force, officials said.

US ramps up direct mly aid to Pakistan

 

[Javed3]

courageneverdies
“” I dont think that the burden of IDPs of Waziristan will be of that magnitude which we had seen of Malakand Div. because people have already been displacing from Waziristan because of the news that the op might be launched at any time. Plus the bombing of PAF also forced them to leave the area well in time before the commencement of PA op in waziristan.””

Utterly callous and disgraceful for any nation worth the name. You target your own citizens to flee their homes?

Will you do the same in Defense / Gulberg Lahore? Or in Clifton, Karachi? Or in Vihari or Wazirabad?

 

[MZUBAIR]

Advancing from 3 directions.... Destination Makeen. Hope it will go good and smooth.

BOL PA

KIT Out

Looks extreme fighting,
It looks PA is giving more blood.

WANA: Fighter jets of security forces pounded militants’ positions in South Wazirisitan, killing 11 terrorists and destroying 2 hideouts during the ongoing military operation on Saturday.

Two security personnel were martyred and five injured in two separate attacks in SWA, sources said.

According to details, a security man was martyred and three others injured in a remote detonated bomb attack on a vehicle of security forces in Karkunray area near Jandola in SWA. The military forces repulsed and pounded militants’ positions in Karkunray with the help of fighter jets. As a result, 11 terrorists were killed and 8 others injured. Two militants’ hideouts were also destroyed.

Meanwhile, the military’s planes also targeted suspected positions of militants in Tehsil Ladha and Sarvekai.

The militants attacked FC’s convoy in Razmak area of SWA, killing one security man and severely wounding two more.

Political administration has said that the military’s infantry have begun operation against terrorists from three sides.

It said over 4000 to 5000 terrorists are present in the area, most of them are hiding in Mehsud area.

 

[Javed3]

All-Green:
“”These terrorists are making us stronger...our Army and Air force are getting crucial battle experience...””
You call this battle hardening? Pulverizing a few Kalashnikov wielding wild eyed crazies without any real defense does not make you a better soldier.

These kind of internal conflicts are a sure short way to destroy the Army professionally. They get used to easy pickings and pot shots against a numerically and technologically inferior adversary.

This is what happened to the “battle hardened” Georgian Army in Aug 2008. Most of the Georgian Army was recycled through Iraq, and their president thought that they were combat hardened. When Russian armor formations numbering less than 7000 penetrated into South Ossetia and the Air cover was lost to the Russian SU-27; about 30,000 Georgian troops based around Gori began running towards Tbilisi; leaving their shoes behind.

 

[courageneverdies]

Looks extreme fighting,
It looks PA is giving more blood.

No blood, no fertility bro. Its that sacred blood that is the strongest foundation that holds our country and nation.

Long Live PA. We are with you.

KIT Out

 

[mjnaushad]

We should surround the area fully so no terrorist can make there runaway.

 

[MZUBAIR]

No blood, no fertility bro. Its that sacred blood that is the strongest foundation that holds our country and nation.

Long Live PA. We are with you.

KIT Out

Yeah but it makes me cry when I feel abt our politicians..........they never did and nither they would ever cared for that single drop of blood.
They already destroyed our country from one end (Economy) coz they ever hav their own intrests.

Inshallah soon we will see peace but we will keep watching faces of these devil politicians.

 

[The Patriot]

i believe SW is easier than Malakand for some reasons. its a small area and not that much mountainous as Malakand Division. The Mehsud area doesn't touch Afghanistan so it has no strategic depth. Snow will not fall on most of the parts. Army can easily win with blockade on for several months. the advantage of militants in SW is their hardcore fighters. in swat, hardcore and well trained fighters were not that much like SW. PA can face stiff resistance from them. they may also launch suicide attacks on army there. plus they may use anti tank mines.
i feel PA can control the area in a month or two but clearing it from bad guys will take some more time.
my best wishes and prayers are with PA.

 

[courageneverdies]

Utterly callous and disgraceful for any nation worth the name. You target your own citizens to flee their homes?

Will you do the same in Defense / Gulberg Lahore? Or in Clifton, Karachi? Or in Vihari or Wazirabad?

If you have known a little bit about the pre-op attacks of PAF on Waziristan, you must have known that none was made on civilians rather on militants, their convoys and depots plus there training camps. The people there thoght it best to leave and to get to safe places so that they may not face difficulty because of hustle that would have raised because of commencement of PA Op.

That was my point. Now the people who migrated from SW are safe more than those who still are there in SW.

Secondly, your point about Punjab Sindh are utter nonsense. The situation in these areas can not be compared at any point with Waziristan. Its an agency where Govt. in past did not get the uphold. The literacy rate is nearly to none and it is under-developed area. People dont support such religious extremists in these areas of Punjab and Sindh, but much aid is their in NWFP and specifically in the agencies.

Thirdly, Waziristan has been under influence of Afghanistan and Afghan war twice, first when USSR entered her and secondly when US did.

Situation is utterly different in Lahore, Karachi and other cities than Waziristan. Even Peshawar and Mardan do not have much of those religious extremists. Dont try to discriminate the Pakistani nation, we are united. The displaced IDPs were not from Punjab or Sindh when all the nation got united to aid them. The soldiers who gave their lives for the freedom and security of Malakand's people were not all Pathans. Bodies went to rural areas of Punjab, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Sindh.

The people who will displace from Waziristan will be our guests and we will try our honest best to facilitate them like we did to Swat's IDPs. Even better.

We are proud to be a nation, we are united and will demoralize those who will try to break our unity. Pathan, Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Kashmiri is our secondry identity we all are Pakistanis first.

We dont want someone to tell us that whether we deserve to be called a nation or not, we have belief in ourselves that yes we are united and have joined hands to fight the bloody terrorists and enemies who will try to destabalize Pakistan.

KIT Out

 

[All-Green]

Dear Taimikhan:

That was excellent and highly informative post. Very well researched!!.

My key concern is here:
“”If you remember in 2001 crises, the whole army was nearly mobilized in 2 weeks time, even the far flung formations of Quetta & Peshawar reached the borders””.
In a future crisis Pak Army may not have the flexibility to move formations from Swat, Bajaur, and Waziristan to the Eastern border.

Also remember that FC elements, Bajaur Scouts, Chitral Scouts, and Tochi Scouts were deployed in the Northern areas during the 1971 war. Such a backup may not be available in a future conflict.

Situation of Army Aviation is cause for serious concern. The aircrew issues can probably be resolved through aggressive induction / training in 2-3 years. Fleet utilization profile of Mi-17’s, Bell-412, AH-1’s in this phoney war is such that fatigue cycles are accumulating like hell. The AH-1 fleet is by now almost useless for sustained anti armor operations against India. We have been just too meek and undemanding to our customer (USA). It would make sense to demand at least 100 AH-1 and possible AH-64.

“”Come on yaar itnaa bhi stupid & underestimate naa karo PA ko””
I don’t think PA is stupid. It is just a bit too JAZBATI in carrying out its US assigned duty. As for foresight and planning PA has not done terribly well. Please read this article by Air Cdr (R) Kaiser Tufail:
Aeronaut: Kargil Conflict and Pakistan Air Force

Sir,

This is not American assigned duty, this is fight for survival and cleaning up the mess we ignored for a long time...
We treated this like a mid life crisis whereby all of us were just asking why this is happening, surely this did not happen before, surely it is someone else's fault...surely it will vanish if we close our eyes...
I am sorry it cannot go away so easily...

TTP tasted blood and found the victim weak and confused...had our responses been firm before, they would not have dared to flaunt their atrocities openly on media...had a nation like India or any other nation in the world openly boasted that they attacked Pakistan via suicide bombings....i am 100% sure we would have gone to war...still it is shameful that we thought that these guys are different...they have a right to kill our men, women and children in cold blood...they tainted the name of Islam, Pakistan and everything we hold sacred...yet how sad and pathetic that we found it difficult to even call them as our enemy...we all condemned the actions but when it came to condemning the terrorists we hoped that it was just a nightmare and the bombings were carried out by an invisible order...still most of our nation listened to the sweet lullaby of our great political Mullahs and Shariah lovers...we slept in the sweet slumber dreaming of TTP as Mujahids who just wanted to make us better Muslims and had to resort to just a bit of violence which we all deserved because we were not good enough Muslims and human beings...the TTP was a punishment of Allah set upon our land so that we become better Muslims, if only we mended our ways the punishment would stop...we were a nation which forgot the lesson its forefathers tried to pass on to it...tolerance...

We nearly even bent our knees in a false hope that they shall become satisfied with Shariah law...and still they did not rest but kept on advancing, thank god their otherwise brilliant strategy failed due to overconfidence...
Overconfidence which rightly stemmed from one thing...the jazbati pan of this nation to accept anything if the name shariah, Jihad and Islam is attached to it...

They were helped by well organized and well financed parties like Jamaat Islami which cannot survive in a stable Pakistan...still the likes of Jamaat Islami support TTP in all their statements, they are the mouthpieces of TTP...even media is now questioning whose side JI is on...

The absolute truth is in front of us, this is Pakistan and we have to protect it against this unprecedented attack...

It is a bit too late to just think about what led to this point, though i think most Pakistanis have learnt a few lessons in the most hard and bloody way...
Kill the beast first...think later...

We have a long road ahead of us, Pakistan will survive and become great...Inshallah...i have firm belief that we shall emerge victorious if we show a little bit determination...

We need to have faith in ourselves...to fight back when attacked is after all an indication that we have not yet died...it is a primary sign of a life form which still has the desire to live...

Live and use what you have learnt to become stronger....