pakdefender
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The connection to UAE is notable
Operation Rah-e-Nijat (South Waziristan)
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Abu Zolfiqar
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a lot of the pro-extremist elements are residing in UAE, Saudia and Kuwait.
I'm glad the security forces nabbed this guy before he could run away.
In fact, I am hearing reports that there are elements making their way to Somalia and Yemen.
I'm glad the security forces nabbed this guy before he could run away.
In fact, I am hearing reports that there are elements making their way to Somalia and Yemen.
air marshal
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Six terrorists killed in Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan
ISLAMABAD, Dec 19 (APP): Six terrorists were killed during an encounter with extremists at Lawara Punga area near Mana in Razmak sector during the last 24 hours as the security forces continued Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan.According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release, security forces secured Sain Tanga and Malik Shahi Jandola Sector and carried out search and clearance operation in Mehmudabad,Khanu Khel near Pezu and Munawala near Pezu. Four suspects were apprehended during the search operation.
In Shakai Sector, security forces conducted search operation in village Ali Meh and Ziarat Jeh near Sarwakai and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition.
Security Forces conducted search operation in Badam Shah near Pash Ziarat and destroyed three compounds, two bunkers and one tunnel (4 feet x 15 feet) and cleared four houses.Terrorists fired with rockets and small arms at security forces patrol near Mana which was effectively responded.
The forces conducted search operation at Khamata Sar & Shakrai Narai,Marobi Raghazai, Kam Narakai/Bashka and cleared 52 compounds and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition.
During a search operation of Waziristan Hotel in Miran Shah and apprehended two terrorists and three grenades and one jacket camouflage were recovered.
Meanwhile in Operation Rah-e-Rast Swat-Malakand security forces carried out cordon and search operation in Pashtunai, Bodigram near Matta and recovered cache of arms and ammunition.Search and clearance operation at Batkhela, Hissar near Daggar, Topdarra near Daggar and Swari, Dandikot near Ambela and apprehended 13 suspects alongwith arms and ammunition.
In relief activities, 25,843 Cash Cards have been issued to displaced families of Waziristan.
ISLAMABAD, Dec 19 (APP): Six terrorists were killed during an encounter with extremists at Lawara Punga area near Mana in Razmak sector during the last 24 hours as the security forces continued Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan.According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release, security forces secured Sain Tanga and Malik Shahi Jandola Sector and carried out search and clearance operation in Mehmudabad,Khanu Khel near Pezu and Munawala near Pezu. Four suspects were apprehended during the search operation.
In Shakai Sector, security forces conducted search operation in village Ali Meh and Ziarat Jeh near Sarwakai and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition.
Security Forces conducted search operation in Badam Shah near Pash Ziarat and destroyed three compounds, two bunkers and one tunnel (4 feet x 15 feet) and cleared four houses.Terrorists fired with rockets and small arms at security forces patrol near Mana which was effectively responded.
The forces conducted search operation at Khamata Sar & Shakrai Narai,Marobi Raghazai, Kam Narakai/Bashka and cleared 52 compounds and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition.
During a search operation of Waziristan Hotel in Miran Shah and apprehended two terrorists and three grenades and one jacket camouflage were recovered.
Meanwhile in Operation Rah-e-Rast Swat-Malakand security forces carried out cordon and search operation in Pashtunai, Bodigram near Matta and recovered cache of arms and ammunition.Search and clearance operation at Batkhela, Hissar near Daggar, Topdarra near Daggar and Swari, Dandikot near Ambela and apprehended 13 suspects alongwith arms and ammunition.
In relief activities, 25,843 Cash Cards have been issued to displaced families of Waziristan.
fatman17
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War on terror: Judging Pakistan
Monday, December 21, 2009
By Richard J Douglas
An article of faith in the West is that the al-Qaeda masterminds of the terrorist attacks of September 2001 — as well as terrorist bombings in Islamabad, Peshawar, and Karachi — have taken refuge in sanctuaries in Pakistan’s rugged western border areas. There is a related notion — equally common in the West — that Pakistani security forces make no effort to hunt down such murderers, who have also shed much Pakistani blood. So I would like to offer a few observations based upon my own experience in Pakistan. Not so many years ago, I was fortunate to visit South Waziristan. I will never forget the immense beauty of the rugged Pakistani mountain ranges between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a region that has much to teach the West about the manhunt for terrorists and miscreants who may in fact be hiding in these remote areas.
Picture this: valleys with walls so steep and narrow that the rotor tips of even the smallest helicopter would be snapped off during any attempt to land. Vault-like mountain hollows where not even a mule — let alone a truck or other wheeled vehicle — can enter. Narrow mountain footpaths, snaking through beautiful but impenetrable valleys, and along hair-raising mountain ledges and ridges. No roads. No infrastructure. Walled family compounds with turreted defensive positions at all four corners perched in high mountain passes.
The reader who can picture such conditions has actually begun to appreciate the challenges to a determined and capable army or frontier force — like Pakistan’s — whose objective is to find one man, or even one hundred men, across miles of such terrain.
Thinking about how the West perceives Pakistan’s efforts to fight terrorism on its own soil also brings to mind the case of one Eric Robert Rudolph. Accused of bombing the Atlanta Olympics, and an Alabama abortion clinic, this American terrorist disappeared into the mountains of North Carolina in 1998.
The Tarheel State’s beautiful blue mountain ranges are breathtaking and memorable, but in no way are they as rugged or challenging as the mountains in the Pakistan/Afghanistan border region. A comparison is not even close.
Moreover, in contrast to Pakistan’s mountains, miles of paved roads and marked fire trails through the North Carolina ranges and the Appalachians allow the use of the heaviest search vehicles and rotary wing aircraft. Yet five years passed before the US authorities were able to locate Rudolph and bring him to justice. In fact, his capture was almost completely a matter of chance.
One cannot help but wonder, then, about the intense pressure on Pakistan to find needles in the immense haystack of the Hindukush — a task that is several orders of magnitude more difficult than the five-year manhunt for Rudolph in America and other fugitives in the West.
The presence of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda in Pakistan would be a scourge on that beautiful and friendly nation. Personally, I am convinced that the region would witness an immediate change in Western policy and behavior if bin Laden were produced — dead or alive. But until that day comes, it is only right that the world give credit to Pakistan for the sheer magnitude of the geographical challenges it faces in the hunt for terrorists on its own soil.
Likewise, the West should not forget what Pakistan has accomplished — at great human cost — against terrorists and foreign fighters in its rugged mountains. This is the result of determination, resourcefulness and ingenuity, brought to bear courageously in one of our planet’s most challenging landscapes.
Richard J Douglas was US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Counter-narcotics during the Bush Administration. He has visited Pakistan on multiple occasions.
Reach him at richdouglas@hotmail.com
Monday, December 21, 2009
By Richard J Douglas
An article of faith in the West is that the al-Qaeda masterminds of the terrorist attacks of September 2001 — as well as terrorist bombings in Islamabad, Peshawar, and Karachi — have taken refuge in sanctuaries in Pakistan’s rugged western border areas. There is a related notion — equally common in the West — that Pakistani security forces make no effort to hunt down such murderers, who have also shed much Pakistani blood. So I would like to offer a few observations based upon my own experience in Pakistan. Not so many years ago, I was fortunate to visit South Waziristan. I will never forget the immense beauty of the rugged Pakistani mountain ranges between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a region that has much to teach the West about the manhunt for terrorists and miscreants who may in fact be hiding in these remote areas.
Picture this: valleys with walls so steep and narrow that the rotor tips of even the smallest helicopter would be snapped off during any attempt to land. Vault-like mountain hollows where not even a mule — let alone a truck or other wheeled vehicle — can enter. Narrow mountain footpaths, snaking through beautiful but impenetrable valleys, and along hair-raising mountain ledges and ridges. No roads. No infrastructure. Walled family compounds with turreted defensive positions at all four corners perched in high mountain passes.
The reader who can picture such conditions has actually begun to appreciate the challenges to a determined and capable army or frontier force — like Pakistan’s — whose objective is to find one man, or even one hundred men, across miles of such terrain.
Thinking about how the West perceives Pakistan’s efforts to fight terrorism on its own soil also brings to mind the case of one Eric Robert Rudolph. Accused of bombing the Atlanta Olympics, and an Alabama abortion clinic, this American terrorist disappeared into the mountains of North Carolina in 1998.
The Tarheel State’s beautiful blue mountain ranges are breathtaking and memorable, but in no way are they as rugged or challenging as the mountains in the Pakistan/Afghanistan border region. A comparison is not even close.
Moreover, in contrast to Pakistan’s mountains, miles of paved roads and marked fire trails through the North Carolina ranges and the Appalachians allow the use of the heaviest search vehicles and rotary wing aircraft. Yet five years passed before the US authorities were able to locate Rudolph and bring him to justice. In fact, his capture was almost completely a matter of chance.
One cannot help but wonder, then, about the intense pressure on Pakistan to find needles in the immense haystack of the Hindukush — a task that is several orders of magnitude more difficult than the five-year manhunt for Rudolph in America and other fugitives in the West.
The presence of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda in Pakistan would be a scourge on that beautiful and friendly nation. Personally, I am convinced that the region would witness an immediate change in Western policy and behavior if bin Laden were produced — dead or alive. But until that day comes, it is only right that the world give credit to Pakistan for the sheer magnitude of the geographical challenges it faces in the hunt for terrorists on its own soil.
Likewise, the West should not forget what Pakistan has accomplished — at great human cost — against terrorists and foreign fighters in its rugged mountains. This is the result of determination, resourcefulness and ingenuity, brought to bear courageously in one of our planet’s most challenging landscapes.
Richard J Douglas was US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Counter-narcotics during the Bush Administration. He has visited Pakistan on multiple occasions.
Reach him at richdouglas@hotmail.com
TalibanSwatter
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It makes sense for the Salafi-led TTP thugs to seek refuge in friendly regions.
Somalia, Yemen are increasingly popular bases for Salafi Jihadis led by Al Qaeda, while Saudi continues to serve as the leadership hub for the Greater Salafi Jihad Network.
Last edited:
Barrett
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Three militants arrested, weapons recovered in Hangu
Monday, 21 Dec, 2009
PESHAWAR: Three militants among 23 other suspects have been arrested during a search operation in Hangu district on Monday.
DPO Abdur Rasheed said police and security forces raided a seminary on Sumari road and arrested Maulana Rauf, Maulana Abdur Rasheed and Arshad.
Ten kilograms of highly explosive material, 100 yards of detonator cord and three dynamiter sticks were recovered from their possession.
The weapons recovered from the suspected militants include three Kalashnikovs, two repeaters, five rifles, three shot guns and five pistols.
The three militants were taken to an unknown location by the security forces for interrogation.
Earlier, a shop was partially damaged as a rocket fired from tribal area exploded near the Kohat city police check post; no casualties were reported.
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Three militants arrested, weapons recovered in Hangu
Monday, 21 Dec, 2009
PESHAWAR: Three militants among 23 other suspects have been arrested during a search operation in Hangu district on Monday.
DPO Abdur Rasheed said police and security forces raided a seminary on Sumari road and arrested Maulana Rauf, Maulana Abdur Rasheed and Arshad.
Ten kilograms of highly explosive material, 100 yards of detonator cord and three dynamiter sticks were recovered from their possession.
The weapons recovered from the suspected militants include three Kalashnikovs, two repeaters, five rifles, three shot guns and five pistols.
The three militants were taken to an unknown location by the security forces for interrogation.
Earlier, a shop was partially damaged as a rocket fired from tribal area exploded near the Kohat city police check post; no casualties were reported.
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Three militants arrested, weapons recovered in Hangu
Abu Zolfiqar
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Press Release
No 539/2009-ISPR
ISPR Update – 21 December 2009
:: ISPR :: Inter Services Public Relations - PAKISTAN
air marshal
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Two terrorists killed; three arrested in South Waziristan
ISLAMABAD, Dec 21 (APP): The security forces killed two terrorists and apprehended three others during the last twenty four hours of the ongoing Operation Rah-e Nijat in South Waziristan.According to an ISPR press release, terrorists fired with small arms at security forces check post near Janata which was effectively responded.
In Shakai Sector, Terrorists engaged security forces positions at Pungai near Ladha from South West of Narakai and cleared terrorists compounds while two terrorists were killed and three were apprehended.
In Razmak Sector, terrorists fired on security forces check post near Mana and Pash Ziarat which was effectively responded.
The security forces conducted search and clearance operation at Kam Narakai, near Makeen, Nawazkot and cleared 40 compounds and huge cache of arms and explosive were recovered.
In Operation Rah-e-Rast of Swat and Malakand, the security forces conducted search and clearance operation at Bara Banda, near Kanju, Ghuzkas, Sarbala near Tutan Banda, Guljabba near Kabbal and apprehended 14 suspects.
The security forces conducted search and cordon operation in Tetai near Fatehpur, Mera Mai near Bar Durushkhela, Sarsanai, Mingora and surroundings and recovered cache of arms and ammunitions.
A search and clearance operation was also conducted near Totakan and during encounter, four terrorists were killed.
So far as the relief activities are concerned, 26,585 Cash Cards have been issued to displaced families of Waziristan.
ISLAMABAD, Dec 21 (APP): The security forces killed two terrorists and apprehended three others during the last twenty four hours of the ongoing Operation Rah-e Nijat in South Waziristan.According to an ISPR press release, terrorists fired with small arms at security forces check post near Janata which was effectively responded.
In Shakai Sector, Terrorists engaged security forces positions at Pungai near Ladha from South West of Narakai and cleared terrorists compounds while two terrorists were killed and three were apprehended.
In Razmak Sector, terrorists fired on security forces check post near Mana and Pash Ziarat which was effectively responded.
The security forces conducted search and clearance operation at Kam Narakai, near Makeen, Nawazkot and cleared 40 compounds and huge cache of arms and explosive were recovered.
In Operation Rah-e-Rast of Swat and Malakand, the security forces conducted search and clearance operation at Bara Banda, near Kanju, Ghuzkas, Sarbala near Tutan Banda, Guljabba near Kabbal and apprehended 14 suspects.
The security forces conducted search and cordon operation in Tetai near Fatehpur, Mera Mai near Bar Durushkhela, Sarsanai, Mingora and surroundings and recovered cache of arms and ammunitions.
A search and clearance operation was also conducted near Totakan and during encounter, four terrorists were killed.
So far as the relief activities are concerned, 26,585 Cash Cards have been issued to displaced families of Waziristan.
fatman17
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U.S. Speeds Aid to Pakistan to Fight Taliban
By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: October 28, 2009
WASHINGTON — Even as the Pakistani government plays down the American role in its military operations in Taliban-controlled areas along the border with Afghanistan, the United States has quietly rushed hundreds of millions of dollars in arms, equipment and sophisticated sensors to Pakistani forces in recent months, said senior American and Pakistani officials.
During preparations this spring for the Pakistani campaigns in Swat and South Waziristan, President Obama personally intervened at the request of Pakistan’s top army general to speed the delivery of 10 Mi-17 troop transport helicopters. Senior Pentagon officials have also hurried spare parts for Cobra helicopter gunships, night vision goggles, body armor and eavesdropping equipment to the fight.
American military surveillance drones are feeding video images and target information to Pakistani ground commanders, and the Pentagon has quietly provided the Pakistani Air Force with high-resolution, infrared sensors for F-16 warplanes, which Pakistan is using to guide bomb attacks on militants’ strongholds in South Waziristan.
In addition, the number of American Special Forces soldiers and support personnel who are training and advising Pakistani Army and paramilitary troops has doubled in the past eight months, to as many as 150, an American adviser said. The Americans do not conduct combat operations.
The increasing American role in shoring up the Pakistani military’s counterinsurgency abilities comes as the Obama administration debates how much of a troop commitment to make in neighboring Afghanistan. It also takes place as Taliban attacks are spreading into Pakistani cities. It is unclear whether Pakistani authorities are using any of the sophisticated surveillance equipment to combat the urban terrorism.
Underscoring the complexity of the relationship between the allies, Pakistani officials are loath to publicize the aid because of the deep-seated anti-American sentiment in Pakistan. And they privately express frustration about the pace and types of aid, which totals about $1.5 billion this year.
At a military briefing on Saturday, the Pakistani Army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said the fight in South Waziristan was a purely Pakistani enterprise, unaided by the United States or anyone else. “Let us finish the job on our own,” he told reporters.
Hasan Askari Rizvi, a military analyst in Lahore, said that publicly acknowledging the military aid — an open secret in Pakistan — could hand militants fresh ammunition for propaganda attacks. “The Pakistan military would not like to talk about the U.S. assistance,” he said, “so that the Islamists, most of whom are opposed to military operations, do not get additional reason to criticize the military and the government.”
American officials in Pakistan — whom the Pakistani government directed earlier this year not to discuss the United States role in providing humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes by the fighting in Swat — said the same edict applied to war assistance.
“The Pakistanis insist on ‘no American face’ on their war. Period,” said one senior American military officer in Southwest Asia, who would speak only anonymously because he did not want to jeopardize his relationship with his Pakistani counterparts.
Given the reluctance of Pakistani and American officials to speak openly about the assistance, it is difficult to assess how effective the American aid has been in the current combat operations.
Beneath their official silence, many senior Pakistani military officials seethe at the months, or even years, of delay by the Pentagon in delivering promised hardware and troop reimbursements. They also gripe that the United States is denying them the best technology, like Predator drones or Apache helicopter gunships.
“We are grateful for the generosity but believe that we have now learned to fight with what all we possess and not what has been promised,” said one senior Pakistani officer, who was granted anonymity to provide a candid assessment.
Shuja Nawaz, director of the South Asia Center of the Atlantic Council, a nonprofit policy and research group, sharply criticized the Obama administration in an essay on the organization’s Web site last week. “Pakistan still does not have all the weapons or assistance that it needs to do the job right,” he wrote.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton acknowledged the frustrations in an interview this week with Dawn, a Pakistani daily newspaper, before arriving on a trip to Pakistan.
“We both have bureaucracies,” Mrs. Clinton said. “We know how it is sometimes that things get delayed or they’re slower than we want, but we’re really trying to accelerate everything we can to help the Pakistani military.” Mrs. Clinton did not provide any details.
An American adviser in Pakistan, who was granted anonymity to discuss internal United States policy, said, “U.S. current military assistance either demonstrates U.S. resolve and offsets anti-Americanism, or is deliberately underplayed to boost Pakistani military and political credibility, and the latter meets our policy objectives more closely.”
The United States has provided Pakistan with about $12 billion in military assistance and payments since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Pentagon reimburses Pakistan about $1 billion a year to cover its costs of fielding more than 100,000 troops along the Afghan border in counterinsurgency operations.
But in the past year, the Defense Department has significantly increased the shipment of military equipment to Pakistan to combat the increasingly violent insurgency.
Most significant was Mr. Obama’s involvement in speeding the delivery of the 10 Russian-built Mi-17s, at the request of the Pakistani army chief of staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. Four of the transport helicopters were leased to Pakistan in June, and the rest were provided under different authorities to move Pakistani Army soldiers in the border region near Afghanistan.
“The president was engaged on this issue in the spring,” said a White House official, who spoke anonymously because he was discussing Mr. Obama’s involvement.
Also involved was Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who repeatedly pressed his staff to find the Mi-17s in American inventories and to figure out a way to provide them to Pakistan.
This year alone, the Pentagon is sending more than $500 million in arms, equipment and training assistance to Pakistan, to help train and equip the Pakistani military for counterinsurgency operations.
Included in that package is nearly $13 million in electronic eavesdropping equipment to intercept militants’ cellphone calls. In July, the Pentagon supplied Pakistan with 200 night vision goggles, 100 day/night scopes, more than 600 radios and 9,475 sets of body armor.
The Pentagon has also sharply increased programs to bring Pakistani officers to the United States for training, particularly in counterterrorism.
“We’ve put military assistance to Pakistan on a wartime footing, as up to now it has been in a peacetime process,” said Lt. Col. Mark Wright, a Pentagon spokesman. “We are doing everything within our power to assist Pakistan in improving its counterinsurgency capabilities.”
Jane Perlez contributed reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan
By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: October 28, 2009
WASHINGTON — Even as the Pakistani government plays down the American role in its military operations in Taliban-controlled areas along the border with Afghanistan, the United States has quietly rushed hundreds of millions of dollars in arms, equipment and sophisticated sensors to Pakistani forces in recent months, said senior American and Pakistani officials.
During preparations this spring for the Pakistani campaigns in Swat and South Waziristan, President Obama personally intervened at the request of Pakistan’s top army general to speed the delivery of 10 Mi-17 troop transport helicopters. Senior Pentagon officials have also hurried spare parts for Cobra helicopter gunships, night vision goggles, body armor and eavesdropping equipment to the fight.
American military surveillance drones are feeding video images and target information to Pakistani ground commanders, and the Pentagon has quietly provided the Pakistani Air Force with high-resolution, infrared sensors for F-16 warplanes, which Pakistan is using to guide bomb attacks on militants’ strongholds in South Waziristan.
In addition, the number of American Special Forces soldiers and support personnel who are training and advising Pakistani Army and paramilitary troops has doubled in the past eight months, to as many as 150, an American adviser said. The Americans do not conduct combat operations.
The increasing American role in shoring up the Pakistani military’s counterinsurgency abilities comes as the Obama administration debates how much of a troop commitment to make in neighboring Afghanistan. It also takes place as Taliban attacks are spreading into Pakistani cities. It is unclear whether Pakistani authorities are using any of the sophisticated surveillance equipment to combat the urban terrorism.
Underscoring the complexity of the relationship between the allies, Pakistani officials are loath to publicize the aid because of the deep-seated anti-American sentiment in Pakistan. And they privately express frustration about the pace and types of aid, which totals about $1.5 billion this year.
At a military briefing on Saturday, the Pakistani Army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said the fight in South Waziristan was a purely Pakistani enterprise, unaided by the United States or anyone else. “Let us finish the job on our own,” he told reporters.
Hasan Askari Rizvi, a military analyst in Lahore, said that publicly acknowledging the military aid — an open secret in Pakistan — could hand militants fresh ammunition for propaganda attacks. “The Pakistan military would not like to talk about the U.S. assistance,” he said, “so that the Islamists, most of whom are opposed to military operations, do not get additional reason to criticize the military and the government.”
American officials in Pakistan — whom the Pakistani government directed earlier this year not to discuss the United States role in providing humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes by the fighting in Swat — said the same edict applied to war assistance.
“The Pakistanis insist on ‘no American face’ on their war. Period,” said one senior American military officer in Southwest Asia, who would speak only anonymously because he did not want to jeopardize his relationship with his Pakistani counterparts.
Given the reluctance of Pakistani and American officials to speak openly about the assistance, it is difficult to assess how effective the American aid has been in the current combat operations.
Beneath their official silence, many senior Pakistani military officials seethe at the months, or even years, of delay by the Pentagon in delivering promised hardware and troop reimbursements. They also gripe that the United States is denying them the best technology, like Predator drones or Apache helicopter gunships.
“We are grateful for the generosity but believe that we have now learned to fight with what all we possess and not what has been promised,” said one senior Pakistani officer, who was granted anonymity to provide a candid assessment.
Shuja Nawaz, director of the South Asia Center of the Atlantic Council, a nonprofit policy and research group, sharply criticized the Obama administration in an essay on the organization’s Web site last week. “Pakistan still does not have all the weapons or assistance that it needs to do the job right,” he wrote.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton acknowledged the frustrations in an interview this week with Dawn, a Pakistani daily newspaper, before arriving on a trip to Pakistan.
“We both have bureaucracies,” Mrs. Clinton said. “We know how it is sometimes that things get delayed or they’re slower than we want, but we’re really trying to accelerate everything we can to help the Pakistani military.” Mrs. Clinton did not provide any details.
An American adviser in Pakistan, who was granted anonymity to discuss internal United States policy, said, “U.S. current military assistance either demonstrates U.S. resolve and offsets anti-Americanism, or is deliberately underplayed to boost Pakistani military and political credibility, and the latter meets our policy objectives more closely.”
The United States has provided Pakistan with about $12 billion in military assistance and payments since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Pentagon reimburses Pakistan about $1 billion a year to cover its costs of fielding more than 100,000 troops along the Afghan border in counterinsurgency operations.
But in the past year, the Defense Department has significantly increased the shipment of military equipment to Pakistan to combat the increasingly violent insurgency.
Most significant was Mr. Obama’s involvement in speeding the delivery of the 10 Russian-built Mi-17s, at the request of the Pakistani army chief of staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. Four of the transport helicopters were leased to Pakistan in June, and the rest were provided under different authorities to move Pakistani Army soldiers in the border region near Afghanistan.
“The president was engaged on this issue in the spring,” said a White House official, who spoke anonymously because he was discussing Mr. Obama’s involvement.
Also involved was Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who repeatedly pressed his staff to find the Mi-17s in American inventories and to figure out a way to provide them to Pakistan.
This year alone, the Pentagon is sending more than $500 million in arms, equipment and training assistance to Pakistan, to help train and equip the Pakistani military for counterinsurgency operations.
Included in that package is nearly $13 million in electronic eavesdropping equipment to intercept militants’ cellphone calls. In July, the Pentagon supplied Pakistan with 200 night vision goggles, 100 day/night scopes, more than 600 radios and 9,475 sets of body armor.
The Pentagon has also sharply increased programs to bring Pakistani officers to the United States for training, particularly in counterterrorism.
“We’ve put military assistance to Pakistan on a wartime footing, as up to now it has been in a peacetime process,” said Lt. Col. Mark Wright, a Pentagon spokesman. “We are doing everything within our power to assist Pakistan in improving its counterinsurgency capabilities.”
Jane Perlez contributed reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan
fatman17
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Sixty arrested militants taken for interrogation
Thursday, 24 Dec, 2009
AFP Pakistan
Four militants, including commander arrested in Bara Four militants, including commander arrested in Bara PESHAWAR: Security officials handed over 60 arrested militants to the political administration of Jamrud on Thursday.
According to official sources, the militants arrested a week ago have now been taken for further interrogation by the political administration.
Security forces have also seized an explosive laden truck in Bara Tehail.
However, the militants managed to escape and the search for fleeing suspects is underway. Forces also averted an attack on an FC convoy by defusing two roadside bombs in Bara Tehsil.
Thursday, 24 Dec, 2009
AFP Pakistan
Four militants, including commander arrested in Bara Four militants, including commander arrested in Bara PESHAWAR: Security officials handed over 60 arrested militants to the political administration of Jamrud on Thursday.
According to official sources, the militants arrested a week ago have now been taken for further interrogation by the political administration.
Security forces have also seized an explosive laden truck in Bara Tehail.
However, the militants managed to escape and the search for fleeing suspects is underway. Forces also averted an attack on an FC convoy by defusing two roadside bombs in Bara Tehsil.
Specialist One
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Nine killed in Pakistan attack
(UKPA) 1 hour ago
Pakistan's army has killed at least nine suspected militants in a north-west tribal region near the Afghan border, a government official said.
Mohammed Yasin said the military used helicopter gunships to destroy three militant hide-outs in the Orakzai area.
Many Pakistani Taliban fighters are believed to have fled to Orakzai since the army launched a major offensive against them in the South Waziristan tribal region in October.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has also hinted the army will pursue a full-scale offensive in Orakzai.
(UKPA) 1 hour ago
Pakistan's army has killed at least nine suspected militants in a north-west tribal region near the Afghan border, a government official said.
Mohammed Yasin said the military used helicopter gunships to destroy three militant hide-outs in the Orakzai area.
Many Pakistani Taliban fighters are believed to have fled to Orakzai since the army launched a major offensive against them in the South Waziristan tribal region in October.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has also hinted the army will pursue a full-scale offensive in Orakzai.
TaimiKhan
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SW operation has not basically ended, a lot of area is still left to be cleared and those area need long time to scrutinize and clear it up.
Problem was that majority of the militants ran towards the Orakzai and Kurram Agency as they knew they couldn't stay in NW due to peace deal by Wazir tribes, the centuries old animosity between them and as security forces are already in control of NW, hiding such large number of militants would be problematic. So now the new game is clear and control SW, start a campaign in Orakzai and Kurram as it will make them encircled in a pocket, as after that they have not many options left to go, either cross over the border or stay in this pocket and keep fighting and die.
waraich66
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Militants ran away in all directions north,south and towards Afghanistan, but question how they ran away if sorrunded by army from all three directions .
It means they ran away before the start of operation and now hidding in high mountains waiting for right time .
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