Operation Rah-e-Rast (Swat)

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

I wanted to bring your attention to this video on youtube - Its a Dunya TV reporter, Arif Yusufzai, interviewing the four SSG commandoes captured in Swat. I find it quite shocking the way the reporter is insulting and demeaning the SSG soldiers. I think the goverment should investigate the role of this reporter (in addition to that of the ex-comissioner) in this whole sordid affair.

Check out the YouTube link posted by kamranali75 on May 18.

For some reason, I am unable to include the you tube link in the post.

It has been posted in the SSG killed 8 Taliban sticky in this section.

And you cannot post links until you cross 15 posts - to avoid spammers and people who join just to cut and paste.

 

[ajpirzada]

Military apologizes for civilian casualties in Swat
By Iftikhar A. Khan
Tuesday, 26 May, 2009 | 09:51 PM PST |

In this picture taken from a video released by the Pakistan Inter Services Public Relations Department, soldiers rescue an injured man (C) from the rubble of a house during fighting with Taliban militants in Khawazakhela, Swat.—AFP

ISLAMABAD: The military on Tuesday apologized for the civilian casualties in Swat and adjoining areas, saying that the security forces were exercising all possible care to avoid collateral damage during the ongoing counter insurgency operation.

‘Though the number of civilian casualties is minimal, we feel sorry for those killed by splinters and accidental fire,’ military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said while briefing reporters about the progress of operation Rahe Rast. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Samsam Bukhari was also present on the occasion.

He said only the confirmed hideouts of terrorists were being attacked and collateral damage was being avoided even at the cost of the pace of operation. He said in the case of air fire, precision targeting based on authentic intelligence report was advancing the military operation without adversely affecting the civilian population.

He rejected reports that a fresh group of trained terrorists had entered the troubled area. He said no military operation was going on in South Waziristan.

He said the operation was progressing well and the security forces had secured control of around half of Mingora city despite resistance. He said street fight and house to house search was going on in Mingora city.

He said 29 terrorists were killed in various areas of Swat during exchange of fire with the security forces while another 14 were arrested. Six soldiers laid down their lives and 11 others were injured. General Athar Abbas said 18 miscreants were killed in Mingora during exchange of fire and seven were arrested while escaping towards Buner.

He said four improvised explosive devices had been defused. Malakand-Qambar-Mingora road has been opened. In Qambar Security Forces defused 12 IEDs and also recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition. Kanju-Kabal road has been cleared and fierce fighting is on for securing of Kabal.

About Peochar, he said security forces continued with cordon and search operation and destroyed the strongholds of miscreants at Mano Derai. During exchange of fire three miscreants were killed while three were apprehended.

He said security forces have attained foothold at Bagh Derai. During the clash with miscreants, one soldier was killed and one got injured at Sambat Bridge near Fateh Pur. A 30 member Jirga arrived at Kuz Durshkhela to express their support for Army operation in the area.

A remote control shaped charged IED of 20 kg explosive was also defused at Pir Kalai by the troops. Security Forces have cleared Sakhra valley, the main route of terrorist’s movement from Peochar towards Kalam and other areas.

About Buner, he said 90 per cent area of Buner had been cleared. Some terrorists are present at Pir Baba, but to keep the sanctity of Ziarat, firing is being avoided. During search at check posts, four miscreants have been arrested.

He said last night 100 to 120 terrorists attacked Kalpani Post in Dir from three directions. Kalpani Post seals Maidan valley route from the north and terrorists are desperate to remove this post. The attack was repulsed and miscreants suffered heavy casualities. He said eight dead bodies have been recovered in close vicinity of check post and few are visible at a distance. Two security personnel laid down their lives and three got injured including an officer.

He dispelled the impression that operation Rahe Rast was snail-paced saying that it was not a traditional operation. ‘We will ensure that the terrorists do not stage a come back in the area,’ he remarked.

Asked as to why the senior leadership of Taliban could not be targeted, he said it was essential to keep certain things confidential to achieve success. He said the terrorists were being encircled and cornered. He said their morale was now going down and they were trying to flee different areas.

Responding to a question, he said the terrorists succeeded in securing gun-powder from the mining areas. He said the IEDs being used by terrorists were locally manufactured.

Referring to the relief activities, he said five trucks of Army rations have been despatched to Khawazakhela. Three truck loads of bedding and mix rations items were delivered to IDPs of Union Council Saro Shah. Seven truck loads of rations items and non food items were delivered to 5000 IDPs of Union Council Guli Bagh, Bakhshali, Gujrat, Balagarhi, Takhat Bahi, Mayar and Baghdada. Four trucks loads have been dispatched for the stranded people of Mingora while six more will be despatched shortly.

Samsam Bokhari said the operation was progressing well and had achieved success beyond expectations. He said though it was difficult to give a time-frame for its completion, heexpressed the confidence that the nation will soon hear good news. He said the Taliban were facing retreat and now had started making statements that they do not want war.

He said it was the priority of the government to ensure safe and honourable return of internally displaced persons to their respective areas in minimum possible time.

DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Military apologizes for civilian casualties in Swat

 

[brilTek]

A Poem by Swati Girl, She calls for Peace

WASHINGTON, May 26 – Prevented from attending school due to ongoing violence in northwest Pakistan, 11-year-old Malalay speaks out about peace and her right to an education.


"I represent Swat, the Switzerland of the East, which, was once so beautiful, so peaceful and so full of life has now become a valley of violence, bloodshed, and denial of respect for humanity and values," said Malalay, speaking on behalf of her classmates at a peace conference organized by the international poverty alleviation group ActionAid and its local partner Citizen Rights and Sustainable Development. . My valley is turning into ruins and my school is threatened to be turned into ashes."

Malalay further said -- "O' the protector of human rights and justice, Come out! Stand by us! Give my books back! Give my pen back!" reads a poem Malalay wrote and used to address local elders.

Malalay whose name is derived from a heroic folk lore character, gave moving account of her life as a girl in Swat. She shared her fears and concerns about the future which seem to hold nothing but bleakness. She explained that her community has complied with all the Taliban's orders but they still continue to harrass the community.

"Every child of my age in the area is terrified. We are not allowed to go to schools, when they asked us not to go to schools, we stopped going there," she added. "Yet, they torched our schools. We couldn't go out to play."

"I want to become a doctor. I want to tell all the extremist elements that if they deny female education, where would they send their own daughters for medical treatment," Malalay said.

Malalay is also fearful for her teachers who are threatened everyday by these militant elements.

"My teachers have dedicated themselves for the mission of imparting education and yet, these forces have threatened to kill them and forced them to stay at home," she added

"My school has 62 teachers and around 700 children are studying in the school and it's been weeks that no educational activity has taken place in our schools. I won a quiz competition on my last day at school and I was so happy that I beat all the other students of my age, but now I dread that I would never be able to go to school, participate in quizzes and win prizes for my abilities," Malalay said, with tears in her eyes.


Malalay love for her homeland and her anguish on the current situation is very obvious from this poem, which she wrote herself to address elders and the people in power.


Education is my basic right

My books have been burnt

My pen has been broken

My school has been torched

O' the protector of human rights and justice,

Come out! Stand by us!

Give my books back!

Give my pen back!

I am the daughter of the Eve!

I'm a mother, I' m a sister, I' m a daughter...

I am an honorable part of this global village...

Is there anyone to hear my voice, to hear Swat??

Help us and protect us!

Source: Swati girl call for peace

 

[ajpirzada]

‘Swat operation ahead of schedule’

* Peshawar corps commander says Taliban giving up mentally, bickering among ranks

By Iqbal Khattak

PESHAWAR: Operation Rah-e-Rast is ahead of schedule and is forcing the Taliban to “give up mentally and psychologically,” a top military commander said on Tuesday, adding that more areas have yet to be cleared before declaring an end to the offensive.

“We are ahead of schedule and making progress,” Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Masood Aslam told Daily Times, stopping short of revealing the exact time of ending the military operation in Swat and surrounding areas, which was launched after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani ordered the action on May 7.

Gen Aslam said the operation was “making the [Taliban] give up mentally and psychologically. But I cannot say when this operation will be over as there are areas that are yet to be cleared”.

Regarding the Taliban command and control system, he said, “There is bickering among the commanders as one is complaining against the other for not sending reinforcements. We believe they [could be] betraying each other”.

Asked where the Taliban top leadership may be situated, Gen Aslam said that they were being tracked down.

Also on Tuesday, the corps commander warned the Taliban to “surrender unconditionally”. “They would not be allowed to disturb the peace of the region,” he said while speaking to soldiers at a forward operation base in Swat.

A military statement quoted him as saying, “Terrorists are on the run and they will not be let [go]. The writ of the government has to be established at all costs.”

He announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards the Taliban and their local harbourers.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Owais]

Army secures more areas in Mingora

ISLAMABAD (updated on: May 27, 2009, 03:53 PST): Security forces are fighting fierce street battle in Mingora, the capital of Swat to clear the town of the militants. Though terrorists are putting up stiff resistance, security forces are moving forward and have secured almost all the major squares of the town, said Major General Athar Abbas, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) here on Tuesday.

"The claim regarding no resistance from Taliban is baseless, after seeing their defeat at the hands of security forces they are making efforts for escape. But they would not be allowed to escape", General Abbas said while briefing media about the ongoing military operation in Swat. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Syed Sumsam Ali Bukhari was also present on the occasion.

ISPR chief informed the media that more than 29 terrorists have been killed and over 40 arrested during the ongoing operation Rah-e-Raast against terrorists in Swat and other parts of Malakand division in last 24 hours. He said that eight dead bodies have been recovered in close vicinity of check post and few are visible at a distance. Two security personnel embraced Shahadat and 3 got injured including an officer.

Abbas said that the operation in Swat is in full swing and forces have tightened the grip over the Mingora town to block the escape routes of the terrorists who are trying to flee the area after facing defeat.

Mingora streets are witnessing neck to neck fighting at present as security forces have broken the resistance of the militants and more than half of the city is under army's control.

Security forces have started massive hunt of the militants in Mingora by launching house to house search, Abbas said, adding that during exchange of fire 18 terrorists were killed in Mingora and 7 were arrested while escaping towards Buner. Abbas said that six soldiers were martyred during the operation while 12 others received injuries in the battles with militants. Security forces have repulsed an attack by more than 100 militants at Kalpnai check post of Lower Dir and the battle lasted for many hours in which more than eight terrorists were killed and several others injured, he added.

Security forces have cleared three villages during advance towards Kanju, after forces launched an offensive against the terrorists from Sangota and Kanju areas to push the militants towards Kabbal where fierce battle with the militants is going on, Abbas said.

He said that the Kanju-Kabal road was also cleared and fierce fighting is on for securing of Kabbal, while during exchange of fire between security forces and miscreants, three soldiers embraced shahadat and 8 soldiers got injured.

He said that forces have defused a huge number of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted by terrorists, while Malakand-Qambar-Mingora road was opened after clearing the area from the militants. In Qambar security forces defused 12 IEDs and also recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition, he added.

Security forces continued the cordon and search operation and destroyed the strongholds of miscreants at Mano Derai after a fierce battle in which three militants were killed while three other detained.

Talking about the operation in Shangla, General Abbas said that the forces have attained foot hold at Bagh Derai. During the clash with miscreants, one soldier embraced shahdat and one got injured at Sambat Bridge near Fatehpur. He said over 90 percent area of Buner district was cleared. Some miscreants/terrorists are present at Pir Baba, but to keep the sanctity of the shrine, firing is being avoided and during search at check posts, 4 miscreants have been arrested, he added.

Giving details of the relief activities of Pakistan Army, Abbas said that five trucks of Army with ration have been despatched to Khawazakhela, while three trucks load of bedding and mix rations items were delivered to IDPs of Union Council Saro Shah. Seven trucks load of rations and non food items were delivered to 5000 IDPs of Union Council Guli Bagh, Bakhshali, Gujrat, Balagarhi, Takhat Bahi, Mayar and Baghdada and four trucks have been dispatched for the people of Mingora. Six more will be dispatched shortly, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, State Minister for Information Sumsam Bukhari said the nation would soon hear the good news regarding the elimination of Taliban as their morale is quite low as compared to the high-spirited forces. The armed forces of Pakistan are gaining success with the support of the whole nation, he added.

Responding to a question, Bukhari said that the government will leave no stone unturned to support the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and provide them every possible support for their rehabilitation. The government may curtail its development budget if it realises the same is necessary to help IDPs, he informed. He maintained that arrested militants would soon be brought in front of the nation and requested the people to help recognise the terrorists in disguise moving to other areas.

 

[khanz]

their days are numbered inshallah

 

[ajpirzada]

Mingora to be cleared of terrorists in 2-3 days: DG ISPR
ISLAMABAD, May 27 (APP): Director General ISPR Major General Athar Abbas on Wednesday said the town of Mingora city will be cleared of the terrorists within two to three days while more successes have been achieved in various parts of Malakand Division under Operation of the security forces. “Mingora city will be cleared of militants in next 2‑3 days. However, returns of IDPs depend upon restoration of electricity, water and other services,” he said in an update issued on the Operation Rah‑e‑Rast.

“Security forces are carrying out house to house search in Mingora Town. During search operation eight miscreant‑terrorists were apprehended from Nishat Chowk, while one soldier was wounded.”

He said in the last 24 hours, 12 miscreant‑terrorists were killed in various areas of Swat during exchange of fire with security forces, while one soldier embraced shahdat and three others were injured.

He said the security forces continued with cordon and search operation and cleared besides destroying the strongholds of miscreants in Peochar. During clash with miscreants two soldiers were wounded.

Kanju‑Kabal road, he said, has been cleared and intense fighting is continuing for securing of Kabal. A suicidal vehicle was destroyed short of Shamozai bridge by the security forces.

The security forces have secured their positions at Madyan, Bagh Derai and Kala kot, Sakhra valley and important heights west of Fathepur, he said adding an important miscreant commander, Irfan Ullah was killed on Tuesday during the operation in Malam Jabba. Dead bodies of three miscreants’ and huge cache of arms was recovered, while one soldier embraced shahadat.

Militant‑terrorist are attacking and snatching the relief items being despatched for the stranded people of Bharain, Madyan and Kalam.

Around 300 vehicles for provisions of relief items moved to Shangla, Khawazakhela, Bahrain, Madyan and Kalam, while 4 truck load relief items were distributed among stranded people of Mingora.

As far as relief activities by Army are concerned he said over 38 truck loads were despatched and distributed among the IDPS with the break‑up of: Eight Trucks carrying meal ready to eat (MRE) were despatched to Swat for stranded people.

One truck load of rations and non food items was distributed among 286 families of Parmulai Union Council.

Five trucks load of relief items have been despatched to Khawazakhela.

Load of 20 trucks ration and non food items were delivered to Jalozai Camp.

Four trucks of rations delivered to off camp IDPs in District Swabi and Mardan.

Arrangements have been finalised in coordination with Civil Administration for garbage collection at Benazir Camp.

Area upto Sultanwas has been cleared of militants. IDPs upto Sultanwas can return to their homes.

Mohmand Agency has been cleared of miscreants. All left over IDPs of Mohmand Agency can move back to their residencies in the Agency.

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency )

 

[ajpirzada]

interesting... it didnt take that long lik many of us imagined. i guess US needs to learn from us. Zardari should offer Obama some of pakistani soldiers to train american soldiers.. lol.

there is another news that Fazlullah might have been killed

Was Fazlullah taken out in bunker hit on Friday?

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

By our correspondent

RAWALPINDI: Mystery surrounds the fate of a top-level Taliban occupant of a hilltop bunker in village Datta Khra, between the former Taliban stronghold of Kabal and Shamozai, which was completely destroyed in a gunship helicopter attack last Friday evening.

The possibility of Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah being the prized casualty is not being ruled out by top military sources, but due to the sensitivity of the issue, no one is even willing to brook a guess.

It is, however, pertinent to mention that since Friday’s strike, Fazlullah has not made any contact with any of his commanders. Understandably, the Taliban are also maintaining a stoic silence on this issue as the confirmation of such an eventuality could have an adverse impact on terrorists’ morale.

According to sources, the bunker was occupied by a top-level Taliban commander as unlike other militant bunkers dotting the landscape, this one had marble flooring while expensive thick Afghan carpets were also recovered from the debris. The fortified bunker was well stocked with food supplies and was littered with destroyed parts of extremely- sophisticated communication equipment.

The practice of the Taliban taking away their dead and burying them quickly has constantly posed a serious problem for the armed forces in confirming the number and identity of the killed and in the event of a commander’s death, the Taliban spare no effort to remove the body. When contacted, DG ISPR, Maj-Gen Athar Abbas said in the absence of any concrete evidence, he could neither confirm nor deny the possibility of Fazlullah’s death.
Was Fazlullah taken out in bunker hit on Friday?


imagine swat hill top, afghan carpet, mable floorin, enough food stock, communication. i would love to have my honeymoon like this

 

[Neo]

Mingora to be cleared of Taliban within three days ​

Wednesday, 27 May, 2009

PESHAWAR: Pakistan vowed Wednesday to wipe out the Taliban from Swat’s main town of Mingora within three days, as fierce fighting raged during a month-long offensive to crush the insurgents.

Around 2.4 million people have fled fighting as soldiers struggle to wrest back the northwest Swat and two nearby districts from the Taliban, who advanced last month to within 100 kilometres of Islamabad.

The military said 12 suspected militants and one soldier were killed in the last 24 hours in the Swat valley, where a two-year Taliban uprising had crushed the tourism industry and effectively imposed sharia law.

In Mingora, the military said troops carried out house-to-house searches, while clashes in the area left eight insurgents dead.

‘Mingora city will be cleared of militants in next 2-3 days,’ it announced in a daily briefing update on the offensive.

Security officials said earlier that two soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle near Mingora.

Clashes also rocked Kabal and Kanju towns, within 25 kilometres of Mingora, a security official told AFP.

‘Severe fighting is continuing in Kabal town. Militants are resisting in various parts of town,’ he said.

‘It was a little bit calm in Mingora. There are reports of firing but militants are retreating from different parts of the city. Troops are busy clearing roads and streets of mines and bombs.’

The military says around 1,200 militants and 76 soldiers have died in the onslaught, launched in the districts of Lower Dir on April 26, Buner on April 28 and Swat on May 8, but those tolls cannot be confirmed independently.

The UN refugee agency says 2.38 million people have fled to other parts of Pakistan since May 2.

There has been no official word on civilian casualties, and fears are growing for tens of thousands of people who remain trapped in the conflict zone, battling to survive with little food and water.

Salam Khan, a resident who fled Kabal late Tuesday, told AFP life was becoming increasingly desperate under curfew.

‘One cannot even find a match box -- there is no food, people in some areas have started eating their animals,’ Khan told AFP from Peshawar.

‘It was like movies I used to see on TV. They were bombing the mountains, they were shelling by helicopters and using mortars. Shells were landing even in our houses. We had no option but to leave the area.’

Armed Taliban militants bent on imposing a harsh brand of Islamic law had for weeks patrolled the streets of Mingora, but a Taliban spokesman said the fighters were withdrawing from the city to prevent civilian deaths.

The militants' advance toward the capital last month violated a February deal with a pro-Taliban cleric which put three million people in the northwest under sharia law in a bid to end the Taliban insurgency.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Fazlullah may be dead: Iftikhar

Thursday, May 28, 2009

LAHORE: The NWFP government has received reports that TTP Swat chief Fazlullah has been killed in the military operation in Swat, provincial Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said on Wednesday. He told media in Peshawar several key militant commanders’ deaths had already been confirmed, a private TV channel reported. The NWFP government has also decided to place head money on the Taliban leadership, he added. daily times monitor

 

[Enigma SIG]

Too good to be true!!! I hope the wacko died instantly!
Seriously though the govt should investigate the matter fully before making confirmation statements...

 

[Hellfire]

interesting... it didnt take that long lik many of us imagined. i guess US needs to learn from us. Zardari should offer Obama some of pakistani soldiers to train american soldiers.. lol.

AJ

The clearing up and consolidation is yet ongoing, and the real effectiveness will be seen 2-3 months down the line ... lets see if the Talibs melt into civillian population.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

AJ

The clearing up and consolidation is yet ongoing, and the real effectiveness will be seen 2-3 months down the line ... lets see if the Talibs melt into civillian population.

I can't resist - even on reconstruction NATO has little to show in terms of being an example for Pakistan to follow.

But yes, as the PA and GoP have both stated several times, the military component is a small part of the strategy. In the aftermath of the ops the civilian administration will have to step up with LEA's, reconstruction, administration etc.

It was heartening to see the young officer acting as a guide for a journalist in Buner explain how it woudl be the local administration and police who would prevent the Taliban from re-emerging after they were cleared out through the ops (in an early clip posted in this thread). To me that indicates the lessons of COIN are not restricted to statements by the top leadership alone.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

^^^ related to that -

Sherpao questions govt’s post-Swat operation strategy
​

By Irfan Ghauri

ISLAMABAD: Former NWFP chief minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Wednesday questioned the government’s post military operation strategy for restive Swat and Malakand Division, saying both federal and provincial governments ostensibly lacks comprehension of the issue.

Sherpao, who served as the interior minister during the last government, told Daily Times that the government was currently concentrating on military might only and had yet not made any political and administrative strategy for the post-operation scenario.

“They (federal and provincial governments) are without post-operation plan. For an effective strategy, there is a need for new administrative set-up for the area. A new police force with advanced training is needed to replace the military once the operation is done,” he said.

He said Bajaur was an obvious example in this respect as it fell again into the hands of militants after a successful military operation. Sherpao said a completely new police force would be needed in Malakand division to ensure law and order as the previous police force had been completely demoralised.

He said the government should have begun police recruitment and training for the area to ensure that it could effectively replace the army after the operation.

He cast doubts on the long-run success of ongoing military operation, saying militants will pop up yet again to fill the vacuum after the departure of military from the area in the absence of proper administrative measures.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[ajpirzada]

Pakistan’s anti-Taliban effort ‘impressively successful’ - White House
WASHINGTON, May 28 (APP): Acknowledging widespread public support behind the Pakistani government’s ongoing anti-Taliban campaign in Malakand, the White House National Security Adviser has described the country’s effort as “impressively successful.” James Jones, a retired Marine general, also applauded the way Islamabad is trying to live up to the enormous task of looking after more than two million displaced people from the northwestern Swat and adjoining valleys.
The United States, he remarked, has been heartened “to see in Pakistan a new and comprehensive and so far impressively successful effort by the Pakistani army to react to its challenge by extremists.”
“We have noted that they are also handling a growing refugee problem with great skill,”Jones told Washington’s Atlantic Council, where he analyzed the anti-terrorism strategy in the regional context, particualrly Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama’s adviser also noted that the Pakistani effort has bolstered the democratic government’s popularity.

“I am heartened by the recent activities of the Pakistani army and the Pakistani government. The response by the military so far has the support of the Pakistani people.”

“The government’s popularity has shot up a little bit in the polls and that is going to have an effect in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he observed.

The top national security official, speaking about the prospects of President Obama’s strategy to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda in the region, said ‘it is too early to tell’ whether it is succeeding in Afghanistan.

But he made it abundantly clear that the strategy is not confined to Afghanistan or Pakistan alone.

“This strategy is regional - it is not just about Afghanistan or Pakistan, it is about the region.”

The U.S. strategy, he stressed, has more features to it than simply the military victory.

“It’s not about how many troops you put on the ground. It’s whether you can achieve security, economic development and governance and the rule of law simultaneously.”

“That’s a three-pronged approach that will serve us well if we do it well. That jury is still out, frankly,” he added.

Besides Pakistan and Afghanistan, the nations committed to the region are also expected to meet their responsibility under the strategy, he remarked.

Jones said the additional 21000 U.S. troops, approved by President Obama, will be deployed in the East and the South of Afghanistan, as they are needed there.

“I am extremely confident that the stability piece, particularly in Afghanistan, can be implemented. The big question is whether the other two legs, the economic development and governance and rule of law, can be applied as quickly as we think. So there is a certain synergy that has to happen along these three legs.”

“And if we do that both nationally and internationally, with the right metrics and the right benchmarks, I think that we should know w ithin in a year whether this strategy is going to be successful.”

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - Pakistan’s anti-Taliban effort ‘impressively successful’ - White House