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Operation Rah-e-Rast (Swat)

They shaved their beards, yes, but are they running back home or advancing forward to infiltrate the refugee camps and terrorize the DPs?

well some have escaped to the camps but cant do any harm to anyone there as they are unarmed but there is not a chance inhell they will be able to get from swat to the DPs camps with arms and without arms it doesnt matter because the army will move in and when people are moving back in no heavy arms of any sort will be allowed so the insurgency will not last also the people truly have no other feeling but hate for the taliban as u may of read that they are accompanying army helicopters to show them taliban hideouts and areas so there ideology is not welcome and so without the suppourt of the people it will die off
 
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* Maj Gen Athar says army will avoid confrontation if Taliban leave Mingora
* Says elite commandos dropped for advance combat​

LAHORE: The military is prepared for house-to-house combat to flush out the Taliban from their urban strongholds in Swat.

“We have prepared for house-to-house fighting but if the militants leave Mingora, then we will avoid it,” Maj Gen Athar Abbas said. He said forces were heading towards Mingora from two directions. They would link up before assailing the city in force.

Elite commandos: Officials on Sunday said elite commando troops had been dropped into parts of Mingora for advance combat as the army lifted a curfew to allow thousands of civilians to flee.

After three days of heavy fighting, thousands of people who had been stranded left Mingora. Thousands more, many on foot or donkey-pulled carts, had streamed out of the valley during the curfew.

“Everybody wants to get out of this hell,” said a resident. “Some are driving out while many are just on foot. They don’t know where they’re heading but staying here means death.”

In Mardan, an NWFP government official said 100,000 displaced people were expected to join the 252,000 already there.

The army on Sunday said it had killed at least 180 suspected Taliban over the previous 24 hours. It said at least 140 bodies were discovered in a camp in Shangla.
 
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Prepared to FISH? Then go FISH.

How about fishing together? You take care of some fish on your side and we do the job on our end. Is that fair? Somehow I do not see your countrymen doing much fishing in Southern Afghanistan these days.
 
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They shaved their beards, yes, but are they running back home or advancing forward to infiltrate the refugee camps and terrorize the DPs?

Many who may run are essentially recruited locals. You need to understand how this thing works instead of worrying about not killing them all. Requires a bit of insight on how the Taliban work and what kind of supporters they have.
 
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Many who may run are essentially recruited locals. You need to understand how this thing works instead of worrying about not killing them all. Requires a bit of insight on how the Taliban work and what kind of supporters they have.

the suppourt has always traditionally been from the poor who have not seen the benfits of educating women and have been tricked into believing that the taliban style is the right style the families affiliated with religious parties also suppourted them but as u can see even religoius parties are suppourting the army and are against taliban influence these guys really have isolated themselves and it was only a matter of time because noone knows what these people want noone understands theyre actions
 
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Troops heading towards Mingora from two directions

Envelopment maneuver. Oldest trick in the book. Shades of Walajah and Cannae. The Taleban won't know what hit them. Envelopment not only maximizes the military and psychological advantages, but also limits the possibility of escape. Therefore, escaping will be difficult, but not impossible.

I can see why the Army would wish to avoid confontation in built up areas. It might give the Taleban a slight advantage to execute their geurilla style hit-and-runs, and it will also allow the Taleban to use civillians as shields and cover-ups during door-to-door ops. But, as far as I know, we've been increasingly training for this type of warfare for a good few years now.
 
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army said that they wont fight those who will leave swat. can anyone tell me wat does this mean. are we lettin them escape?? coz if they escape they will obviously go to some other areas and spread anarchy there. they can also start a new wave of suicide bombing once they escape the area. im really consfused...
 
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army said that they wont fight those who will leave swat. can anyone tell me wat does this mean. are we lettin them escape?? coz if they escape they will obviously go to some other areas and spread anarchy there. they can also start a new wave of suicide bombing once they escape the area. im really consfused...

Now do not read too much into the statement, it may well be a ploy.
:)
The plan can be to push the TTP into prepared killing zones...SSG insertions to secure key areas may be part of this strategy to guide TTP into such zones instead of letting them occupy certain vantage points near the key areas and prolong the fighting.
Army certainly seems to be aggressive and the 30 odd martyrs show that very heavy fighting has occurred indeed.

The statement of ISPR may be part of the strategy to give TTP false hope that Army will sit back on its laurels in reclaiming Mingora and other cities...if this false sense of security is given to TTP they may leave the cities and escape to the valleys, this shall save collateral and will not be a bad thing...actually TTP stands a much better chance to fight in the cities...let us see how it turns out.

I am sure the Army has planned in depth, war is all about guile, deception and constant aggressive maneuvering.
Our army has many good soldiers in its ranks and there can be much more number of troops in surrounding areas than what has been told to the public.

Let us pray and hope for the best.
 
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Thank goodness! Der aaye durust aaye. :tup: :tup: :tup:


MPs back operation against Taliban

By Raja Asghar
Wednesday, 13 May, 2009



ISLAMABAD: The ongoing military action against Taliban rebels in the Malakand division of the North West Frontier Province received a strong backing in the National Assembly on Tuesday while a government minister suggested a preventive police action also in the south of the Punjab province.

Members across party lines on the second day of a special session of the lower house were of the view that the new operation ordered by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on May 7 had become unavoidable to squash a barbaric militancy after it had buried a controversial peace deal with the provincial government.

The unequivocal support to the government and the military from 15 members who spoke during the day’s sitting contrasted with some reservations voiced on the first day of the debate on Monday, when some members complained of not being taken into confidence beforehand and one government ally, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman walked in protest after calling the operation ‘neither right nor timely’.

Most of the speakers said the rebels now deserved no mercy in view of their challenge, in the garb religion, to everything that the Pakistani state stands for.

While describing the masterminds of this militancy as enemies of both Pakistan and Islam, Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi called for using the present momentum to curb some banned militant groups like Lashkar-i-Jhangvi that he said were active in southern Punjab with different names.

He said the rebels’ real designs to destabilise the country became clear after they refused to make peace even after the enforcement of a Sharia Nizam-i-Adl (justice) Regulation they had demanded for Malakand division, leaving no option for the government but to launch a full-scale military operation.

The minister said the rebels also sought to create a sectarian situation by digging out the remains of a religious saint from the grave and hanging them.

While most others sought to justify their previous support for the peace deal and the Sharia regulation for the sake of peace, it was time for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement to claim it was right from the beginning in opposing the deal, with its parliamentary leader Haider Abbas Rizvi saying: ‘We are happy better sense prevailed and people corrected their stance.’

He called for guarding against the Taliban militants — whom he called a ‘malignant cancer’ — escaping the military action by mingling with displaced people fleeing the area, and became the first person in the house to call for the repeal of the Nizam-i-Adl Regulation that he said had now lost its credibility.

One of the strongest criticism of the rebels also came from a religious figure, Sahibzada Fazal Karim of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), who said the Malakand situation seemed to be part of a fulfilment of an Hadith of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) that had predicted the emergence of a group of people at one time who would pose as Muslims but would kill Muslims to serve the designs of enemies of Islam.

He said those challenging the writ of the government and state, not recognising constitution and parliament and defaming Islam were rebels who could not claim normal rights as citizens of Pakistan and deserved to be confronted by the rest of the population.

Pakistan Muslim League-Q member Marvi Memon, a usual critic of the present PPP-led ruling coalition, seemed a changed person on Tuesday when she said it was time to support the government and the military in the fight against extremism and re-establish the writ of the state in the troubled region.

She said the militants would not be able to stand up if they realised the whole nation was one against them, and called for a ‘simultaneous blitz’ against extremist cells in whatever province they might be.

‘Any hand rising against Pakistan must be crushed ruthlessly,’ said independent member Zafar Beg Bhittani from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, who, however called for taking care that only those who took up arms against the state were targeted rather than those who wanted to ‘shower flowers on it’.

Ms Palwasha Khan of the Pakistan People’s Party said although the IDPs were suffering hardships, their honour and lives were now safe from the Taliban who, according to her, ‘are not our own people and had declared war against Pakistan at the instance of aliens’.

Awami National Party’s Jamila Gilani saw the root of the problem lay in the primitive system prevalent in Fata that must be eradicated by reforms and development and said it was the ‘last option’ for the military to restore its honour with the support of people it now enjoys.

PML-N’s Ayaz Amir said there was no choice left except to win this campaign, but he called for a strong political direction coming from a vibrant civilian leadership to erase an impression that it was actually a ‘Pentagon-GHQ operation’ that was now sought to be rubber-stamped. The debate will continue on Wednesday at 10am
 
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Offensive in Swat — boon or bane for Taliban?

By Zaffar Abbas
Wednesday, 13 May, 2009



Monday’S suicide attack that killed and maimed a large number of people at a paramilitary checkpost in Darra Adamkhel was not entirely unexpected. Perhaps the only surprising element was its timing and location.

Civilian and military authorities had been bracing themselves for a series of retaliatory attacks by the militants, mostly in the form of suicide bombings at security installations, ever since the launch of the offensive in the Malakand region.

In the past, extremists associated with the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) of Baitullah Mehsud have been quick to hit back as a riposte to military operations in Swat and its adjoining areas and/or in Waziristan.

On this occasion, they not only waited but also appear to have chosen a target randomly. But this does not mean that in the days to come, especially when the military offensive in Swat is expected to pick up pace, there won’t be more targeted retaliatory attacks.

In fact, if the TTP’s claim of involvement in Monday’s bombing is true, it could mark the beginning of a fresh series of attacks. While this may not be a surprise to those who have been keeping an eye on the growing militancy in the troubled Fata-Malakand region, what has puzzled them was the absence of a justifiable reason for a rather belated response by the militants.

Is it indicative of the weakening of the militants’ organisational structure or hints at possible differences between the TTP’s main leaders and Maulana Fazlullah’s Swati fighters? Or was it because until now the Pakistani Taliban have not viewed the current Malakand operation as a real threat to their existence, and have only just realised that this time the army means business.

Baitullah Mehsud is still regarded as the biggest and the most powerful of the tribal militants who wants to be recognised as leader of the united Taliban movement in the country.

However, to date he has mostly preferred to go with a loosely-knit grouping in the form of TTP, with a number of mainstream and splinter groups within Fata, NWFP and Punjab as its affiliates. But it cannot be regarded as a united, monolithic, entity.

Even his earlier attempts to bring other major tribal militant factions, including the one led by his one-time rival Mullah Nazir, from within Waziristan, under one umbrella was not very effective.

Experts believe there are about 12 militant outfits in the Fata region that are either closely associated with Baitullah Mehsud’s TTP, or have some kind of loose arrangement to operate in their respective tribal territories.

His support was further increased following his decision to either back or own the militant groups involved in sectarian violence, including Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and those involved in the Kurram agency.

Among the so-called Punjabi Taliban who have used Swat and the Mehsud territory either as their operational base or as sanctuary or to provide support to local militants are mostly breakaway or splintered factions of some of the pro-Kashmir jihadi organisations or sectarian groups.

These networks include the Ilyas Kashmiri group, Badar Mansoor group, Qari Zafar group and Asmatullah Mauavia group. Almost all of them also have a loose operational arrangement with Baitullah Mehsud.

Commander Nazir and some of the leading groups in North Waziristan, including that of Siraj Haqqani or Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hizbe Islami and others operate on their own, mostly concentrating on operations in Afghanistan, and generally follow a policy of live and let live with Mehsud’s band.

FOREIGN GROUPS

Among the foreign militants, the biggest group is still believed to be that of the Uzbeks, who are associated with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) of Qari Tahir Yaldashev.

Since they were cornered in and driven out by Wana’s main militant leader, Commander Nazir from the Waziri territory, they have been given refuge by Baitullah Mehsud.

Recently Yaldashev also issued a message through a DVD, calling for attacks on Pakistani security personnel, thus making it clear that his movement was not just about Uzbekistan but was working on al Qaeda’s overall goal.

Among the other foreign militant groups are networks of some number of isolated Chechens, Libyan Islamic Group and Chinese Uighar militants from East Turkmenistan Islamic Movement (ETIM). Members of ETIM are largely believed to be dormant in the area since the last beating they got about a year ago.

The Arab militants, mostly from Yemen, Sudan and Saudi Arabia, are directly associated with al Qaeda, but during the last one year or so they have not been able to work as a coherent force.

Estimates of their strength in the tribal areas have also remained vague. Intelligence assessments of both the western and Pakistani governments are that since the operational head of al Qaeda for Pakistan, Usama Al-Kini aka Azmarai, was taken out in one of the drone attacks, one Abdullah Sudani appears to be in charge.

But it can’t be said with certainty who this person is and if he’s actually providing effective leadership to the Pakistan wing of the pan-Islamic terror network.

Assessments also suggest that though Baitullah Mehsud has kept some kind of an ideological and material link with the Swati Taliban, Maulana Fazlullah’s group not only remains Malakand-centric, but has so far tried to maintain a distinct identity of its own.

And this has been the cause of friction between the two sides, as despite Baitullah’s best efforts, Fazlullah has not been prepared to weaken his own direct control over the 4,000-odd Swati militants.

So much so that he was not even prepared to lower his guard on the request of the founding leader of the Malakand’s Sharia movement, Sufi Mohammad.

Some of his leading commanders active in Swat, Dir and Buner include Mufti Aftab, Shah Duran, Muslim Khan, Sheikh Rahim, Mehmood and a few others. They also have clear links with Bajaur’s most wanted militant Maulvi Faqir, and certainly with leaders of some splinter factions of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, who have either used Fazlullah- controlled territories as a safe haven or use their expertise to train local militants in guerrilla warfare and urban terrorism.

Experts are still trying to assess the significance of the Darra Adamkhel bombing in terms of inter-militant relationship in the Taliban-infested region of Fata and Malakand.

It is being said that if the suicide attack was really part of an organised retaliation by the TTP, it means Baitaullah Mehsud has decided to put aside his differences with the Swati Taliban because he was viewing the current military operation as a major threat to the militant movement in the tribal region.

Security experts believe that although there is evidence to suggest that most of the tribal or foreign militants groups have tried to benefit from each others’ resources and expertise, they are neither a united lot nor have similar aims and objectives or philosophy.

While it may look a bit far-fetched at this stage, the thought troubling the counter-terrorism experts is that the rapidly changing ground reality and the battle for survival may create a more direct nexus —even a unified command —between al Qaeda, Taliban and local networks of militant groups.

That’s why they say so much hinges on the fate of the current Swat operation. If it is able to break the back of the militants quickly, demoralisation may set in the ranks of the Taliban.

Otherwise, they may take heart from the situation and perhaps unify their command structure and better coordinate efforts.
 
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it may be true that the military has to eliminate the taliban and win this war. but the thing is how to do that. only way to do that is by suport from the pakistani people.
And the reason alot of pakistani dont suport this war is becouse PAKISTANI LEADERD ARE AMERICAN PUPPITS.
*Yes pakistan shoud go in war with taliban in swat
*No Zardari shoud not have left to america when the war was about to begin becouse his giving a singal to the pakistani people that this war is not ours but americans, and we are getting dollars.
 
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By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, May 13, 2009



Children wait to get food at a refugee camp in Mardan, in northwest Pakistan, Monday, May 11, 2009. The U.N. said 360,600 refugees had fled Swat and neighboring Dir and Buner districts since Pakistan's army launched a new offensive against Taliban militants last week. (AP Photo/Greg Baker) (Greg Baker - AP)​

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 12 -- Army commandos launched aggressive new search-and-destroy operations in the Swat Valley and several surrounding districts in the Taliban-plagued northwest Tuesday, military officials said.

On the fifth day of a major military offensive, army officials said they were making a concerted effort to wipe out the hideouts and supply bases of Islamist guerrilla forces, mostly located in unpopulated hilly areas, but had not begun a "hard-core urban fight" to dislodge the fighters from major towns in the region.

Officials also said Tuesday that the number of people fleeing the conflict zone has topped 1 million and that more than 360,000 people have registered at 17 camps for newly displaced civilians in the past week.

"God willing, the operation will be completed very soon," Interior Minister Rehman Malik said. Military officials said Taliban recruits were running away and described the offensive as proceeding "smoothly." Government forces are using attack helicopters, warplanes and more than 15,000 ground troops to drive out or kill the militants.

The army's chief spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, told journalists Tuesday that 751 militants have been killed so far in Swat and surrounding areas. He said that the fighting made it difficult to remove their bodies but that photos and videos of captured and dead militiamen would be available within a day or two.

Abbas also said 29 members of the Pakistani security forces have been killed and 71 injured since the operation began Friday. The government forces are believed to be battling about 4,000 heavily armed militants.


"The militants are on the run, and the criminal elements that had joined with them are deserting the Taliban," Abbas said. He said government troops had avoided operating in heavily populated areas but would begin clearing them once civilians had left. The army has briefly lifted its curfew in the war zone nearly every day to allow more people to flee.

However, there have been sporadic reports of civilian casualties, especially in communities where people were trapped in crossfire. Abbas said that he had no specific information about the number of civilians killed but that the government was "taking all possible measures to avoid collateral damage" in populated areas.

Doctors who have fled the region said that the main hospitals in Swat are closed and that the wounded cannot be treated. Refugees and residents reached by phone said Taliban troops are still patrolling the streets of Mingora, the main town in Swat, with no sign of official or army presence.

Meanwhile, army officials said the number of refugees streaming out of Swat and the neighboring areas of Buner and Lower Dir in the past month has swelled to more than 1.3 million. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said more than 500,000 displaced people from the Swat region have registered with the agency since the beginning of May.

Leaders from the region have complained that the government is not sufficiently concerned about the problems of civilians affected by the fighting, but public and political support for the army's effort remains strong.

The offensive was launched last week after the government of President Asif Ali Zardari announced that a peace accord with the militants had failed, citing multiple violations by the Islamist forces. After months of erratic efforts to appease and contain the militants, the government now appears committed to crushing them, a policy that the United States has urged for some time.
 
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well some have escaped to the camps but cant do any harm to anyone there as they are unarmed but there is not a chance inhell they will be able to get from swat to the DPs camps with arms and without arms it doesnt matter because the army will move in and when people are moving back in no heavy arms of any sort will be allowed so the insurgency will not last also the people truly have no other feeling but hate for the taliban as u may of read that they are accompanying army helicopters to show them taliban hideouts and areas so there ideology is not welcome and so without the suppourt of the people it will die off

There will be stashes made within Swat region for example, once the militants decide to melt into the local populance. These are impossible to unearth given the nature of terrain. As such, at a conducive time, the insurrection will again start in a diffuse and sustained patter

OTOH I agreew ith Solomons contention, they just might shift into interior regions of Pakistan and take on a role of urban terror a grim prospect for people of Pakistan.
 
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army said that they wont fight those who will leave swat. can anyone tell me wat does this mean. are we lettin them escape?? coz if they escape they will obviously go to some other areas and spread anarchy there. they can also start a new wave of suicide bombing once they escape the area. im really consfused...

ominious sounding proposal. is it so that PA wants them to clear off Paksitani territory and is sending a signal that operations against them will cease if they were to head towards afghanistan instead?
 
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Those who have suggested that the PA's tactics have been 'heavy handed', and the alleged use of air and artillery strikes in populated areas, please read through this report on the DG ISPR's briefing:
He said during the conduct of the operation, measures had been taken to avoid collateral damage and only confirmed hideouts and strongholds in the valleys and on the mountains had been targeted from air. “The air strikes are conducted where definite information and intelligence is available about training camps, hideouts, munition dumps and logistics being used by the militants,” he added.

Gen Abbas said, so far, security forces had not gone into the populated areas except the small areas on the shoulders. Villagers are also being given warning before the start of action against the militants, he added.

The militants’ strongholds in Mingora, Peochar, Kabal, Khwazakhela and Shangla have been targeted successfully. Banni Baba Ziarat training camp of the militants has been destroyed, reportedly killing 200 militants.

Since the start of the operation in Swat, 18 security personnel were killed and 47 others injured. A cordon and search operation continues in Banni Baba Ziarat, where the miscreants have suffered heavily and 11 security personnel were injured in the last 24 hours.

About Dir, he said, the operation was still in progress in some areas and exchange of fire was continuing. In Buner, consolidation around Daggar continues and Sultanwas area has been surrounded by security forces.
Commandos land in Fazlullah stronghold

Simplistic assumptions about some sort of 'bull in a china shop' campaign, after reading about the use of airstrikes and artillery, are not helpful.
 
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