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Operation Rah-e-Rast (Swat)

the beating/flogging of the girl by the taliban also exposed them fully!

Yes, forgot about that
...though many say it is fake but i don't think so.
Remember it is the same Mr. Javed and others like him who claimed it was staged...what to expect from TTP supporters?
 
Army has made critical progress in Swat: COAS

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Updated at: 1908 PST, Thursday, June 04, 2009
Army has made critical progress in Swat: COAS ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Thursday said the army has made critical progress in Swat.

With reference to Swat operation, the COAS said high value targets are being hit in Swat while its key settled areas and their roads are being cleared.

Gen. Kayani said that Pakistan Army will remain in Swat to provide protection to the people.
 
Banned NSM confirms Maulana Sufi’s arrest

Updated at: 2131 PST, Thursday, June 04, 2009
Banned NSM confirms Maulana Sufi’s arrest ISLAMABAD: Banned Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi has confirmed arrest of its Amir Maulana Sufi Muhammad and other leaders.

According to sources, Maulana Sufi Muhammad was arrested in Amandarra who along with other leaders were shifted to unknown place. Maulana Sufi’s sons have also been apprehended, sources added.

The latest reports say the arrested also include Maulana Sufi’s spokesman Maulana Ameer Izzat, Syed Wahab, Salman and Maulana Muhammad Alam.
 
Banned NSM confirms Maulana Sufi’s arrest

Updated at: 2131 PST, Thursday, June 04, 2009
Banned NSM confirms Maulana Sufi’s arrest ISLAMABAD: Banned Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi has confirmed arrest of its Amir Maulana Sufi Muhammad and other leaders.

According to sources, Maulana Sufi Muhammad was arrested in Amandarra who along with other leaders were shifted to unknown place. Maulana Sufi’s sons have also been apprehended, sources added.

The latest reports say the arrested also include Maulana Sufi’s spokesman Maulana Ameer Izzat, Syed Wahab, Salman and Maulana Muhammad Alam.

wat will this achieve?????
wat exactly can we try them for
 
wat will this achieve?????
wat exactly can we try them for

Try them for

1) supporting terrorism and terrorists
2) making public statements against the constitution of their country of abode
3) trying to ignite a mass rebellion against the state

This is just to boast a few of their accomplishments...I am sure if solid work is done they can be put behind bars for a long time....
 
Tide in Swat has ‘decisively turned’: COAS

Updated at: 1908 PST, Thursday, June 04, 2009
Tide in Swat has ‘decisively turned’: COAS RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani chaired the 119th Corps Commanders’ Conference held here at General Headquarters on Thursday.

According to ISPR: the participants were given a comprehensive briefing on the external and internal security challenges facing Pakistan.

COAS dilated in detail on the Swat operations. He stated that tide in Swat has ‘decisively turned’: major population centers and roads leading to the valley have been largely cleared of organized resistance by the terrorists. High Value Targets are being aggressively hunted. To clear remaining hideouts and sanctuaries, Army will continue to carryout operations at a limited scale. However, isolated incidents of violence will continue and will have to be managed. Army will stay in Swat to provide security to the people.

COAS paid rich tributes to the sacrifices and heroic resilience of the IDPs in sustaining the difficulties for the sake of peace and stability in their homeland. COAS said that we can not afford to leave our displaced brethren in lurch at this critical time. He urged all to work hand in glove to garner maximum support for the relief and rehabilitation.

He expressed hope that the Government will be able to immediately launch a robust administrative effort on the heels of successful military operation, making it possible for the IDPs to return as soon as possible. He stressed that a civilian administrative surge is required for creating conductive environment for the return of IDPs. Army will provide whatever assistance is required. We will spare no effort towards this end.

COAS thanked the people of Pakistan and the media for their whole hearted support during the ongoing operation. He reiterated Army’s resolve to defeat the terrorists. COAS also appreciated the morale, professionalism and dedication of the troops engaged in fighting the terrorism and violent extremism. He lauded the sacrifices being rendered by our officers and soldiers alike in the line of duty.
Tide in Swat has ‘decisively turned’: COAS - GEO.tv
 

Charlotte McDonald-Gibson
Wed Jun 3rd, 2009

MINGORA, Pakistan (AFP) – Grenades, rifles, knives and an ornate sword of the kind allegedly used by the Taliban to behead foes lay on a table in a Pakistan military base, an apparent victor's bounty seized by the army.

Among the rocket launchers, Osama Bin Laden T-shirt and bombs hidden in pressure cookers are more mundane signs of life -- passports, driving licences and a child's biology book filled with careful handwritten notes.

Some signature black turbans of the Islamist movement sit next to a bottle of Russian vodka, which an official said was seized from the home of a senior militant in the military's six-week push to crush the rebels.

Pakistan's security forces are claiming massive gains in cities and towns in their bid to root out Taliban insurgents in three northwest districts.

But in the Swat valley, officials say they face a massive challenge to rebuild the shattered region after two years of Taliban insurgency to enforce sharia law and military offensives, as well as prevent the militants' return.

"Unimaginable damage has been done," said Fazal Karim Khattak, the top administration official for Malakand, a region which includes Swat and where three million people were put under sharia law in a failed peace bid this year.

"We have to re-establish the education system, the health system... we request the international community comes forward to assist the rehabilitation of Swat."

"Billions and billions" of Pakistani rupees (tens of millions of dollars) of damage has been done, he added.

Pakistan launched its offensive in Lower Dir on April 26, Buner on April 28, and Swat on May 8, after the militants flouted the February peace deal and thrust within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the capital Islamabad.

Last weekend, the military said it captured Swat's business and administrative hub Mingora, now a ghost town where shops are shuttered and the only people on the streets are armed soldiers guarding a few charred buildings.

Of the population of 300,000, only 10 percent remain, the rest joining an estimated 2.4 million people who have fled the current military push.

Most of Mingora is free from serious battle damage. Only the notorious square where the Taliban allegedly dumped their victims' bodies shows the scars of serious fighting, with windows smashed and crumbled masonry.

"Taliban are on the run, their command control infrastructure is in disarray. Their lower and mid-tier have been eliminated, the foot soldiers are melting away," said Major General Sajjad Ghani, commander of northern Swat.

Nobody is under any illusions, however, that the battle is over.

Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas says that although towns and cities should be clear of Taliban fighters within days, major combat operations in a fierce guerrilla war could last two more months.

Abbas said soldiers will likely stay on the ground for at least a year to oversee the building of civilian administration and local security forces.

"It is a process. You do not see success as one event in a counter-insurgency operation," he told AFP on a ridge overlooking Mingora.

"When the military secure and clear the area, then it will require the civilian agencies, the civilian administration to fall back."

Analysts say that to win the war against Taliban guerrillas, the army must avoid collateral damage and swiftly rebuild lives shattered by the offensive, or risk spawning more sympathisers for the extremist group.

Many of the Taliban foot soldiers are disenfranchised young men, drawn to the movement by high unemployment and hardship, seeing little scope for advancement in a country dominated by a wealthy elite.

Major General Ijaz Awan, in charge of the army's Mingora campaign, says the long-term plan is to bring back elected representatives, village elders and police, then build up local militias to help keep the peace.

One of the main challenges will be ensuring that fighters who have melted into the mountains do not simply resurface when the offensive is over, reviving their campaign to enforce sharia law, kidnapping and killing with impunity.

The top Taliban leaders remain elusive, with the military operation now moving into the rugged Swat mountains to try and flush them out.

Malakand commissioner Khattak says he has faith that the local community will work with security forces providing intelligence on the identities of militants. Without that, he says, the task is immense.

"If a person throws away his gun and shaves off his beard, how will we know he is a Taliban?" he asks, as he rides through Mingora, the smell of cordite still stinging the air.
 
The situation in Bajaur seems to be precipitating to a crisis as the Army is involved in other areas.

Bajaur -- return of the militant

Thursday, June 04, 2009
A Pakistani

Bajaur Agency is home to TTP-allied militant commanders like Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, Said Muhammad alias Maulvi Umar, Jan Wali alias Sheena, Inayatur Rehman and Wali Rehman. Bajaur also happens to be the linking ground between the Baitullah-led tribal militants and Fazlullah-led Swat militants. Militants started their activities in Bajaur in 2005 and by the summer of 2008 they were in control of almost the entire agency.

The army launched a full-fledged military operation in the agency in August 2008. In support of the army, the tribesmen formed armed lashkars in Salarzai, Barang and Utmankhel tehsils. By March 2009 Utmankhel and Barang tehsils were completely cleared of militants.

Most parts of Salarzai tehsil (except Mandal), Khar tehsil (except the Tangi/Gang area) and Nawagai tehsil (except Charmang) were also cleared. The army was planning a final assault on Mamund tehsil, Charmang and Tangi/Gang areas and the tribesmen were expecting the army to crush the militants once and for all. However, seeing imminent defeat, the militants used their most successful battle tactic so far -- calling a unilateral ceasefire. To the disappointment of the tribesmen, the army fell into the militant's trap and a so-called peace accord was signed and the operation was halted.

This came as a blessing for the militants who regrouped and inducted fresh recruits into their ranks. Three months on and the militants are back in full swing. Proof of this comes from the following recent developments: militants have established checkpoints in Umaray, Damadola, Seway, Badan and Kamar areas of Mamund tehsil and almost all areas of Charmang. They are also conducting snap checking of vehicles in the Tangi/Gang and Mandal areas. Armed militants patrol all these areas and even the areas of Sheikh Baba, Babar Shah, Shago and Lashora in the agency headquarters of Khar. FM radio stations run by militants are still airing propaganda against Pakistan and the army. They are also issuing threatening decrees against the people who sided with the army in the operation. The militants have declared CNICs as un-Islamic and have threatened to kill women who apply for CNICs. Kidnappings and beheadings have again started in the agency and the Salarzai lashkar's headquarters in Pashat has been attacked several times by the militants.

Malik Munir of Mamund lashkar, Malik Kamal Khan of Salarzai lashkar and many elders of Mandal lashkar have been target-killed in Khar. Ears of four members of the peace committee in Khar village were chopped off by the militants. During the most recent polio campaign -- which took place just a week ago -- the militants severely beat up polio teams in Tangi, Maminzo, Babar Shah and Faja areas of Khar, all within one kilometre of the local FC headquarters. Armed militants beat up people at the Post Office in Khar Bazaar because they applied for the government assistance under the BISP scheme. The Post Office is a stone's throw from the heavily guarded office of the Commander Bajaur Levies. Seeing this situation, ordinary tribesmen are losing confidence in the government and security forces. They want a final, decisive action against the militants in Mamund, Charmang, Mandal and Tangi/Gang areas before it is too late. They wonder if the situation can be controlled with a bullet today why go for a magazine a few months later.

The writer is a native of Bajaur who works in Islamabad.
 
Hi,

Most young men joing the taliban are joining for the thrill of the kill. It is not due to unemployment---people seek a great pleasure in killing other human beings and none more so than weak and un-armed---human beings love to toture and mayhem other human beings just to see them squirm and scream---that is the way they feel their power---.

And then add to it the self-righteousness and give the RUBBER STAMP OF AUTHORIZED BY ALLAH---and here you have a recipe of large scale murder, mayhem and torture.

These taliban skinned the pakistani soldiers alive---in the name of allah---they cut the throats of the pakistani soldiers in the name of allah---they committed all and every sundry atrocity IN THE NAME OF THE MERCIFUL, THE BENEVOLENT, THE KIND, THE FORGIVING, THE LORD OF THIS UNIVERSE, THE MASTER OF THE LIFE AS WE KNOW OF IN THIS WORLD AND THE LIFE HERE AFTER---THEY COMMITTED ALL THOSE HEINIOUS CRIMES IN 'HIS' NAME---and that is the most degrading part.

They could have gone and done their jihad against anyone either by a war or by the word of mouth---but the atrocities that they followed through with were beyond any sense of conscience.

Poverty is no excuse to commit the murders that these people committed in the way they did.
 
ASIA PACIFIC
Date Posted: 04-Jun-2009

Jane's Defence Weekly

Pakistan prepares to end military operation in Swat

Trefor Moss JDW Asia-Pacific Editor - London

The Pakistani military operation in Swat is set to end within the next few weeks, although militants continue to offer resistance around the district's main town of Mingora and in outlying areas, a military spokesman has told Jane's .

The officer said on 4 June that there was no firm timetable for bringing operations to an end, with a new offensive likely to begin against the Taliban stronghold of Kabal shortly following the army's capture of Mingora on 30 May.

Swat's internally displaced persons (IDPs) were now gradually starting to return to their homes, the spokesman added. However, with close to three million IDPs having left the area, according to Pakistan's defence secretary, Lieutenant General (Retired) Syed Athar Ali, and towns like Mingora severely damaged, the spokesman acknowledged that it would take a long time to restore normality. The additional USD200 million in aid promised by the United States on 4 June to assist the IDPs should help to rehabilitate North West Frontier Province's affected communities.

There were also no solid plans as yet to extend combat operations to North and South Waziristan, the spokesman said. In May President Asif Ali Zardari raised the prospect of sending the army to the two militant-controlled tribal agencies to follow up the Swat operation, although he has not yet publicly ordered the army to do so.

looks like the political leadership may be getting cold feet again!
 
looks like the political leadership may be getting cold feet again!

Look at it this way sir, continuous involvement of the army in a conflict can seriously hinder their war waging capabilities, not to forget the moral.
 
Look at it this way sir, continuous involvement of the army in a conflict can seriously hinder their war waging capabilities, not to forget the moral.

Look at it this way, stopping now will mean the Taliban will regroup and comeback. This has happened EVERY time!!! Just read the Bajaur article posted above. This is what the Taliban always do. The Pakistan Army claims to have the ability to fight India and they can't fight against the Taliban for some more months? I find that very hard to believe. Stopping before they all are not wiped out would be criminal! The sacrifice of the IDPs will go to waste.
 
Look at it this way, stopping now will mean the Taliban will regroup and comeback. This has happened EVERY time!!! Just read the Bajaur article posted above. This is what the Taliban always do. The Pakistan Army claims to have the ability to fight India and they can't fight against the Taliban for some more months? I find that very hard to believe. Stopping before they all are not wiped out would be criminal! The sacrifice of the IDPs will go to waste.

you are right! TTP will regroup because they are getting continuous support from Afghanistan. the operation must go on till Baitullah Mehsud and Mullah Fazalullah are not eliminated :guns:
 

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