Shawal Valley: The last frontier in Zarb - e - Azab!

[IceCold]

Pakistan officer was involved in parliament attack, Afghanistan authorities say | Fox News

Thanks. It seems Afghanistan has started bickering again which makes me come back to my original post, PA should keep all options open including attacking safe heavens inside Afghanistan.

 

[Rain]

I am not a general but i think during this operation we must provide air cover to our soldier round the clock not just air ready craft, actually jets, heli presence in air round the clock. it will tough and expensive but we need our jawans will covered and protected. same should be done for border monitoring.

If you have been following Zarb - e - Azab closely, you know that the end is near. The Army is currently gearing up for the last stage of their ground operation which will be to clear the dreaded Shawal Valley in North Waziristan.

The final phase will be focused in the areas south of Dattakhel towards the Afghan border through the mountainous, where a large number of militants are believed to have taken refuge after fleeing the operation in other parts of North Waziristan.

I've tried to gather some information on this last frontier but i'm hoping we can use this topic as a form of discussion to learn what makes this valley so unique and tough to overcome. We all know how tough it was for the army to clear Tirah and some experts are claiming that Shawal will be even harder.

For starters, the rough location of the valley is shown below. The area is very close to the Afghanistan border.

The Shawal Valley, which is thought to be administered by Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar and spans both North and South Waziristan, is a known haven for al Qaeda and other terror groups operating in the region. A number of Taliban, Pakistani, and foreign terrorist groups gather in the Shawal Valley.

The area is also a stronghold of Khan "Sajna" Said, a leader of a Taliban faction.

The US has launched 26 drone strikes in the Shawal Valley since September 2010, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. The last of which occurred in early June.

Some questions for the other members of PDF:

1. Do we know how many soldiers will participate in this last stage?
2. Are the ANA working in conjunction with us because what if the miscreants just run to the other side of the border when the OP starts?
3. Will we be utilizing our newest missile laden drone in this operation?

Some pictures of the rough terrain involved

Best of luck to our Jawans! May Allah take care of each one of his warriors!

@fatman17 @Bratva @FalconsForPeace @Side-Winder @Horus @IRFAN ALI BALOCH

second pics look like europe. what beauty we have.

 

[Zibago]

all of these areas have immense tourism potential

Fun fact about thar its rural areas are hindu majority

 

[[Bregs]]

Fun fact about thar its rural areas are hindu majority

wah its very interesting fact,

these are can be boost for economic tourism

 

[Zibago]

wah its very interesting fact,

these are can be boost for economic tourism

That place is a drought hit desert

 

[M.SAAD]

Where is Mullah Fazlullah and other TTP leaders hiding tho?? When is ISI going to hunt them?

 

[PDF]

Thanks. It seems Afghanistan has started bickering again which makes me come back to my original post, PA should keep all options open including attacking safe heavens inside Afghanistan.

It should but going inside Afghanistan is not going to be easy...We are not americans...

 

[IceCold]

It should but going inside Afghanistan is not going to be easy...We are not americans...

I think we have done it in the past its just that news like that never made it to the media and besides we are not Indians.

As far as the capability is concerned i think Pakistan has it though it comes with a cost.

 

[VCheng]

Use laser fencing. It covers wider area and gives exact location of interference.

This will cost money too. And what to do when interference is detected? Those patrols will cost yet more money. Who is going to pay for all of that? Pakistan cannot continue to send bills to CSF for reimbursement indefinitely.

 

[IceCold]

Please dont label me as an Idiot or a moron war monger for what i am about to say but

Once NATO and US leaves and Afghanistan becomes an infested rat hole, We should consider nuking Afghanistan once and for all. Na raha ga Samp na baja ki bansari.

 

[Salik]

This will cost money too. And what to do when interference is detected? Those patrols will cost yet more money. Who is going to pay for all of that? Pakistan cannot continue to send bills to CSF for reimbursement indefinitely.

When interference is detected, send your sharp eyed bird drones rocks laden in claws and beak each.

 

[VCheng]

When interference is detected, send your sharp eyed bird drones rocks laden in claws and beak each.

The important issue here is not the ability, but how to pay for it.

 

[A.M.]

Where is Mullah Fazlullah and other TTP leaders hiding tho?? When is ISI going to hunt them?

It's generally believed that he is in Afghanistan and I don't think PA wants to open up that Pandora's box right now.

Air strikes in northwest Pakistan kill 20 militants: officials - Yahoo News

BANNU, Pakistan (Reuters) - Air strikes killed at least 20 suspected militants in Pakistan's northwestern Shawal Valley on Sunday, intelligence officials said, more than a month after security forces moved in on Pakistani Taliban strongholds in the region.

The deeply forested ravines are a smuggling route between Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, and are dotted with militant bases used as launch pads for attacks on Pakistani forces.

Two intelligence officials, who declined to be identified as they are not authorized to speak on the record, said the latest air strikes occurred in the Zoinari area of North Waziristan.

"We got information that local and foreign fighters were hiding in this area," said one of the officials. "Three hideouts were also completely destroyed."

Initially, 10 militants were reported killed but the intelligence officials later raised the toll to 20.

The hard-line Islamist Taliban's Pakistani wing used to control all of North Waziristan, a mountainous region that includes the Shawal Valley and runs along the Afghan border. But the Pakistani military has recaptured most of it in an operation launched last June.

NATO forces had long urged Pakistan for such an offensive, saying Taliban safe havens in Pakistan were being used to attack NATO and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.

Since last month, the military has stepped up operations in Shawal Valley, where the Taliban still operates freely.

The area is a stronghold of Khan "Sajna" Said, the leader of a Taliban faction whose name was added to a sanctions list of "specially designated global terrorists" by U.S. authorities last year.

Most phone lines to the area have been cut and military roadblocks curtail civilian movement.

The Pakistani Taliban mainly fight against the government in Islamabad and are separate from, but allied with, the Afghan Taliban that ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s before being expelled in a U.S.-led intervention.

Both groups send fighters against Afghanistan's Western-backed government. Afghan officials have said the Pakistani army offensive has driven large numbers of fighters over the border, complicating the war in Afghanistan's east and north.

(Writing by Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Digby Lidstone)

 

[Salik]

The important issue here is not the ability, but how to pay for it.

Laser tech is cost efficient sir and drones are already present.

Besides that, border has to be secured even if with land mines.

 

[VCheng]

Laser tech is cost efficient sir and drones are already present.

Besides that, border has to be secured even if with land mines.

Even with the latest technology, this border will always remain very difficult to secure.