Operations in Dir and Buner

[ajpirzada]

NAR-2009 to be implemented in next two days: Afrasiab
Updated at: 1417 PST, Thursday, April 30, 2009
ISLAMABAD: Awami National Party leader Afrasiab Khattak has said on Thursday that the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (NAR-2009) will be implemented in next two days.

Talking to media outside the Parliament, Afrasiab said that Nizam-e-Adl and Talibanisation were two different things and should not be seen in a narrow context. He said the government has not announced any general amnesty and it would take strict action against anyone taking up arms after the promulgation of NAR-2009.

Afrasiab said that root of the problem does not lie in Swat rather it emanates from FATA, a stronghold of parallel government. ANP leader said the NWFP government remains in contact with TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad and there are absolutely no differences between the province and the center.
NAR-2009 to be implemented in next two days: Afrasiab - GEO.tv

 

[ajpirzada]

Troops get more areas of Buner evacuated; 14 militants killed
ISLAMABAD, April 30 (APP): On the third day of anti‑militant operation being carried out jointly by FC and Pakistan Army, more areas in Buner have been got evacuated from the militants while life is returning to normalcy in Deer, Director General ISPR Major General Athar Abbas said here Thursday. Addressing a media conference at ISPR, he said a large number of militants have been killed during the operation in Buner as so far 14 militants have been reported killed. He said the ground inspection of the area is continuing and the number of killed would increase.

He said that four of the two explosive laden vehicles approaching towards troops were targeted and destroyed in Deer while the other two fled from the scene causing no damage to the troops. FC has established its Headquarter at Daggar, he informed.

He said people of Deer area have been fully backing the troops and have taken a sigh of relief where the situation is well in control.

He said the troops in Buner re‑launched operation in the early hours on Thursday and regained the control of Balandari Pass and Ambala heights after facing a strong resistance from the militants.

Meanwhile, he said the militants attacked post in Jawari Pass area and were given an exemplary response whereby killing four militants while rest others fled from the scene. During the cross fire with the attackers, he said one FC personnel received wounds.

He said the Daggar area is also being swooped to get full control besides ensuring that no militant is in control of any area.

He said that on Wednesday late the militants set the Pir Baba Police station ablaze. Militants are present in high number in Sultan Pass and Pir Baba Ziarat areas, he said. He said that the operation was at slower pace due to the laying of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the area.

Giving update on situation in Swat, he said that the government and security forces have been exercising maximum restraint despite clear violations of the peace deal by Taliban.

He said Taliban are carrying out armed patrolling besides setting up of check posts, kidnapping for ransom, killing and damaging the private properties, in clear violation of the peace deal.

He said despite all odds the government has been sincerely working for implementation of the peace deal in letter and spirit to achieve peace by avoiding any colossal damage to life and property.

Answering a question, he said that the government had already condemned and rejected the “drone attack policy”. “It hurts more than it helps,” he said.

He dispelled the impression that the ammunition available with the militants could harm the fighter aircraft. However he said the helicopters used for engaging militants were fired upon.

In reply to another question he said, “we need to have modern gadgets and weaponry to effectively deal with the militants.” The list of demand includes, he said, fast moving helicopters, surveillance aircraft, better Night Vision Devices, and attack helicopters.

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

 

[fhassan]

sorry were not israelis we cant just drop bombs from thousands of feet and fly back and tell the whole world that were under grave danger from rockets that barely scorch the tarmac of israeli roads, civilians are the reason action was prolonged for so long and because of that the taliban stayed in these areas which is why there is more suppourt for action after people were given a taste of life under the taliban [/QUOTE]

You have summed it up rather well.

This was a planned attack, and the pakistan army actually set up civilian camps around bunner district - in order to minimise civilian disturbance.

somthing this blood-thirsty american can never understand.

The primary operations in and around swat were halted becasue too many swat residents were being killed, and their homes were getting blown up. That is why they attempted alternate methods....

solomon needs to understand that the taliban cannot be beaten by force alone. This is impossible. Afghanistan, Iraq etc are total failures - and now you are suggesting that the Americans need to invade pakistan too.

Ha!

your stupidity, and utter disregard for human life knows no bounds.

 

[Xeric]

Meaning, I suppose, that the military in question may have succeeded in conquering territory but failed to destroy the enemy, allowing it to escape elsewhere.

Atleast one of you had the courage to accept your failure.
Should i call it incompetency or may be a bogus plan, perhaps a failed stragety would be better phrase to difine it.

The answer, I suppose, is for the military to expand its theater of operations and concentrate more on killing the enemy - even if that means killing their human shields as well.

Yeah right!
Keep it expanding, Vietnam, Korea, Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, China, india, etc etc..let's see when you reach Mars.

You people are worst then colonial imperialism. Or should i call Nazism!

 

[Solomon2]

A gratuitous swipe at the Israelis, a palpably phony Pakistani claim to care for civilians, personal insults, factual errors and false analogies. All for ideas I explicitly advanced as hypotheticals, not ones I endorse - and ignoring ones I did.

Are you guys feeling better now? Hope so. Now, can you think of how this discussion can help Pakistan? Either shape your world alone or with friends, or others will shape it and you'll have to live with the results.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

It is difficult to have confidence in an army when it goes on the offensive and the result is an enemy advance.

Didn't the same happen with the US invasion of Iraq?

There was no Al Qaeda in Iraq and definitely no insurgency or the rabid militias that cropped up, Sunni or Shia.

 

[Solomon2]

Didn't the same happen with the US invasion of Iraq? There was no Al Qaeda in Iraq and definitely no insurgency or the rabid militias that cropped up, Sunni or Shia.

The flypaper strategy didn't inspire confidence in the U.S. military, did it? That's one of the reasons why it worked!

 

[Rabbit.Rabbit]

'Army fears disintegration if war ordered on Taliban’
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

US official says Pakistani government and army are still not coming to grips with crisis

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: The Pakistan Army officers are afraid that if they ask the rank and file to fire on the Taliban too much, the whole army might disintegrate, Bruce Riedel, a senior Obama administration official, has said.

The Obama administration is considering expediting aid to Pakistan to block militants threatening a cluster of strategic installations, The Washington Times has reported.

Grip: Bruce Riedel, who chaired the Obama administration’s recent review of policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan, has said the Pakistani government and army are still not coming to grips with the crisis. “Some officials are in denial,” he said.

Riedel expressed concern, however, about whether the Pakistani army would be willing to kill large numbers of the Taliban. Army’s spokesman Maj-Gen Athar Abbas has said the operation against around 500 Taliban could take a week.

Taliban leaders, he said, had faked a withdrawal from Buner to impress the media. The peace deal with the government in the Swat valley was also a trick, he said.

The US has proposed giving Pakistan $1 billion in emergency aid and $1.5 billion a year in economic aid annually for five years.

 

[Solomon2]

If it's true, then why isn't he briefing the press from Buner?

Pakistan retakes key town, kills over 50 Taliban militants

29 April 2009 2355 hrs



PESHAWAR: Pakistan said on Wednesday that its troops have seized control of the main town in the northwest region of Buner after fierce fighting with Taliban in which over 50 militants were killed.

The fighting came after the military on Tuesday launched a ground and air offensive in Buner, near the troubled Swat valley, to flush out militants from the area.

Troops also recovered 18 of around 70 police and paramilitaries abducted by militants in the area Tuesday, chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told a news briefing.

"We have received reports of more than 50 casualties since yesterday," he said, adding that troops also destroyed two explosives dumps...troops had "successfully secured Dagar," the main town in Buner district, and established links with police and paramilitary soldiers there, but militants were occupying three police stations in nearby villages.One security officer had died in "fierce fighting" with the militants and three others have been wounded, he added."We are restrained by the fact that militants have made the people of Buner hostages"...channelnewsasia.com

If you think the Pakistani military wouldn't lie, let me tell my favorite story to dispel that one.

On Jan 18, 2008, the Taliban overran the South Waziristan fort of Saklatoi. Yet ISPR spokesman Major General Athar Abbas stood in front of the media and said: The loss of Saklatoi is "absolutely baseless and I reject this report ...I want to clarify that the Pakistan Army and the Frontier Corps personnel are still present in the fort."

Two days later Abbas briefed about the glorious joint raid by the SSG/FC to retake the Saklatoi Fort.

 

[S-2]

Riedel, like so many of these U.S. officials, is stealing MY thunder. I've been worried about the P.A.'s susceptibility to internal fracturing for some time, both here and elsewhere on the internet.

It IS a concern and I'd trust Riedel to have some clue of this.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

The flypaper strategy didn't inspire confidence in the U.S. military, did it? That's one of the reasons why it worked!

Ahh, so by the same token, one cannot really gage success or failure, despite years of chaos, death and destruction, until at some point all of that 'chaos, death and destruction' (aka flypaper strategy) appears to have been part of a 'plan' (if it works out).

So you have answered your own question then, and we'll find out years from now whether this was Pakistan's own 'flypaper strategy'.

 

[Rabbit.Rabbit]

These loyalty issues are bound to come up if the PA gets serious about taking on the Talibs.
This is probably one of the major reasons why they were reluctant to do so in the first place.

I'm willing to bet that the current action is being conducted by troops whose hometowns lie as far from the battle zone as possible.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Riedel, like so many of these U.S. officials, is stealing MY thunder.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but analysis arguing the PA's susceptibility to fracturing, and hence the reluctance to engage more aggressively or engage at all, has been around for a long time now.

Riedel has offered nothing new here.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

I'm willing to bet that the current action is being conducted by troops whose hometowns lie as far from the battle zone as possible.

You would be wrong then, since the Frontier Corps formed the bulk of the ground troops in both Dir and Buner operations, and the IGFC is also a Pashtun from the Tribal areas.

 

[Rabbit.Rabbit]

You would be wrong then, since the Frontier Corps formed the bulk of the ground troops in both Dir and Buner operations, and the IGFC is also a Pashtun from the Tribal areas.

Not FC, the PA troops.