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Operation Rah-e-Rast (Swat)

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.

bajur was cleared. but later it was civilian admnistration which was supposed to do its work. and we didnt see that happenin anywhere. i dont remember gov even thinkin about re building a demoslished building and investin even a singly ruppee there to generate economic activity. even if we defeat these talibans in waziristan, nothin will change unless civilian leadership step fwd and do their job.

its just sad. its this lethargic attitude of our leaders which makes me give up. with this attitude i dont see any hope for pakistan. beggin the world to forgive our loans, begging the world to give us aid for IDPs, beggin the world to give us money for re construction, begging the world for investin in our country, begging the world to give us free market access and beggin the world to solve our political problems. will our leadership ever do something on their own?? from the available resources.

its better to be a declared american colony than livin lik this. i bet we will be much better off. its this attitude which makes it hard for me to walk here in UK with my head high. i just hate when our president opens his mouth. though i have some hope in our PM.
 
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.

half-a-job done is just as good as no-job done!

we are in this quagmire, and it needs to go to its logical end - personally war in our own country is not good but what choice do we have - all peace deals/overtures have failed!
 
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.

bajaur is going to be one of the final battlegrounds!
 
A swift reply followed

Pakistan mosque blast 'kills 40' - Yahoo! News UK

A bomb blast at a mosque in a remote region of northwest Pakistan has killed around 40 people attending Friday prayers. Atif-ur-Rehman, a government spokesman in Upper Dir, North West Frontier Province, said: "The death toll is 40. We have no idea as yet how many have been wounded."

Upper Dir is close to Swat valley where Pakistani security forge launched a major offensive last month to expel Taliban militants.

Pakistani officials have warned that the militants would strike back. The blast in Dir is the ninth bomb attack in the country since the offensive began, and the Taliban has threatened more revenge.

Umer Rehman, a resident of Hayagai village, around 125 miles northwest of Islamabad, said 30 bodies had been identified.

He said: "A large number of body parts are scattered in the mosque. We don't know whether these are parts of the dead who have been identified or of others."

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said such incidents would not "deter the government from its resolve to eliminate this scourge (of terrorism) from the country".

Earlier, police arrested four men with suicide jackets in Islamabad and nearby Rawalpindi, according to reports.

Roadblocks have multiplied in recent days in both the capital and Rawalpindi, where the army is headquartered, over fears of attacks in retaliation against its offensive in Swat.

It comes as US special envoy Richard Holbrooke consulted with the country's leaders over what needs to be done once the Taliban are wiped out in the region.

The army says more than 1,200 militants and 90 soldiers have been killed since the military action began in late April.

Western allies, worried the nuclear-armed country was sliding into chaos, have praised their success against the militants.

The military has also received wide support internally from major political parties, the public and media.

"The people of Swat have realised that the entire misery which we are facing today, it is because of the Taliban, because of the terrorists, who are not only enemies of the country but enemies of Islam," interior minister Rehman Malik said
 
10 more terrorists killed, 3 activist of TNSM apprehended
ISLAMABAD, June 5 (APP): In last 24 hours, ten more terrorists were killed and four others including three activists of the band outfit of Tehrike Nifaz Sahraiat‑e‑ Muhammadi (TNSM) were apprehended, by the security forces in different parts of Malakand division. According to an update issued here Friday on the operation Rah‑e‑Raast, 14 security forces personnel including an officer and five policemen embraced shahadat and 14 others were injured.

On Thursday, following a tip off regarding terrorists presence in Amandara Madrassa, the security forces raided the Madrassa and Hujrah next to it. As result of the raid six terrorists three of them apparently Afghan Nationals along with Maulana Alam, Amir Izzat Khan and Wahab were arrested. Grenades and other arms and ammunition were also recovered during the raid.

During cordon and search operation, the security forces recovered 35 IEDs,three Thuraya sets, two FM transmitters, 500 detonators, three long range antennas and a large number of pistols and rifles from a Compound in Tahirabad, Mingora. During exchange of fire with terrorists one soldier was injured.

Security forces cleared strip from Chakesar valley up to Aloch, Bazar Kot and Shell Qaser and established link up at south of Dakorak in north of Charbagh.

During the search operation security forces apprehended one terrorist from Nat Kalakot.

A security forces convoy including Police vehicles was attacked by an IED, north of Rustam on road Rustam Ambala on Thursday. A Special Operation Group (SOG) headed by Capt Miraj of Frontier Corps, NWFP was sent to the site of IED attack.

The terrorists hiding close to the site of IED who had reportedly come from the direction of Mardan attacked the FC troops who had gone to help IED attack victims. Fierce encounter took place in which Capt Miraj after inflicting heavy casualties embraced Shahadat.

Captain Miraj was commissioned from PMA in armoured corps in 2003. He was awardee of coveted Sword of honour. He voluntarily joined FC, NWFP to fight against terrorism. He led many encounters with militants in Buner and fought courageously.

In the same incident, 10 other security forces personnel also embraced Shahadat including five policemen in the encounter while 12 others were injured.

Security forces responded back to the situation and killed 10 terrorists in a fierce gun battle and got cleared the area.

In South Waziristan Agency, three soldiers embraced shahadat in an IED attack on a security forces convoy near Jandola.

The ongoing relief and support activities by Army included: Mix ration and relief items have been despatched for 3,000 IDPs of Sikh community from Swat valley at Gurdawara Punja Sahib Hassan Abdaal.

Ration was also distributed among hundreds of off camp IDPs in Akora Khattak, Jehagira, Rashekai, Manki, Sharif and Ziarat Khan Khela.

Another 50 tons of ration was despatched to Khawazakhela, Madian, Kalam and Bahrian.

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency )
 
A Special Operation Group (SOG) headed by Capt Miraj of Frontier Corps, NWFP was sent to the site of IED attack.

That must be the new 'Commando force' raised in the Frontier Corps.

May Capt. Miraj RIP.
 
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.

To fight against India and to fight within Pakistan, there is a hell of a difference between the two, not to forget the complexities involved. While i am all for the elimination of these Taliban wanna be, still there are alot of things that has to be kept in mind before going out all ballistic.
 
since when did we have a commando force in FC?

It was recently raised - about 400 strong so far.

Secret U.S. Unit Trains Commandos in Pakistan Amatu Al-Jabbaar

I would discount the part about the force primarily being the result of the US SOF's cooperating with Pakistan however. There is cooperation, but Pakistan is not about to hand over the raising of an entire unit to foreign trainers and forces.

A new Pakistani commando unit within the Frontier Corps paramilitary force has used information from the Central Intelligence Agency and other sources to kill or capture as many as 60 militants in the past seven months, including at least five high-ranking commanders, a senior Pakistani military official said.

Four weeks ago, the commandos captured a Saudi militant linked to Al Qaeda here in this town in the Khyber Agency, one of the tribal areas that run along the border with Afghanistan.
 
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since when did we have a commando force in FC?

AM is correct, there has been a new force formed in the FC which is a crack commando unit...things have changed with Gen. Kayani and Gen. Tariq Khan.

Salute to Captain Miraj, present arms :sniper: :sniper: :sniper:
Long Live the Martyrs!
:pakistan:
 
Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs RSS
Story by Jim Garamone
Date: 06.05.2009

WASHINGTON- Success in Afghanistan and Pakistan will require an intimate local knowledge of the tribal culture and a small coalition footprint, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command said here on June 4.

Navy Adm. Eric Olson told the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on terrorism, unconventional threats and capabilities that the United States stands ready to do whatever it can to help Pakistan combat extremists, but "I think that we can't help Pakistan more than they want to be helped," he added.

The situation in Pakistan is complicated, the admiral said, and the United States will not force help on people who don't want it.

"One of the filters on sort of their willingness to be helped is how the Pakistan military is perceived within Pakistan," the admiral said. "It is the strongest element of Pakistan, historically. It is the element of government upon which the people depend."

Pakistan is a proud country with a proud military tradition, and America cannot take actions that would cause the Pakistani military to appear to be an extension of the U.S. military, Olson said. "We can only help them in a way that truly helps them, and they are much more expert in that than we are," he told the subcommittee.

The Pakistanis also have never forgotten the cut-off of military contacts in 1990 as a result of the Pressler Amendment, which sought to pressure Pakistan into not developing nuclear weapons. Even though full relations were re-established between the countries in 2003, Olson said, a full generation of Pakistani officers did not work with their American counterparts.

"I think the best thing that we can do is develop the relationships that will erode whatever atmosphere of distrust exists, help the Pakistani people understand that our interests there are theirs and that our commitment is a long term commitment for the good of Pakistan and the stability of the region," Olson said.

The admiral called the environment in Afghanistan uniquely complex. "It is really a village-by-village, valley-by-valley counterinsurgency," he said. "One of the things that I'm finding myself saying more often is that presence without value is perceived as occupation." Afghans have a long history of mistrust toward outsiders, he noted, and they will resist outside influence.

"Much of Afghanistan has not felt ... the impact of a central government in Kabul, ever," Olson said. "I think a large part of our goal there is to encourage the people who are now deciding where their allegiance will be ... to decide to place their bet with a legitimate government, at whatever level that is."

Whether Afghans pledge loyalty to tribal, local, regional or federal government, "it will come down to ultimately where they place their bet," the admiral said. "I think in the absence of solid metrics, it will be our sense of where the people are beginning to place their bets that will lead us to understand whether or not our efforts are successful in the hinterlands of Afghanistan."

Any effort in the country will require a careful U.S. approach, and "it will require as small a footprint as we can get away with in the places we go with the capability and the security considerations as part of that," he said.

"It will require ... a shift towards true local regional knowledge, however that is obtained," the admiral said. "We have to get beyond generalizations in Afghanistan into true deep knowledge of tribal relationships, family histories, the nuances of the terrain and the weather and how that affects how business is done, how money is made, how their world operates."

Leaders have to be able to assess what impact American operations and just mere presence will have in remote regions of Afghanistan, Olson said.

"I think this is a long-term commitment for us, in order to build that depth of knowledge and then allow it to have the impact in the places where that needs to occur," he said. "This will not be people deciding overnight where their allegiance is, it's going to have to be convincing them over a long period of time that they are better off placing their bet with the local regional governments than with the illegitimate power players in the region."
 
Army convoy ambushed in Sakhakot, deaths feared

Updated at: 0741 PST, Saturday, June 06, 2009
Army convoy ambushed in Sakhakot, deaths feared RAWALPINDI: Many deaths have been feared as unknown terrorist have attacked on convoy of Pakistan army near Sakhakot area here early on Saturday, Geo news exclusively reported.

According to ISPR, the Pakistan army convoy was heading to Peshawar from Malakand Division when it came under attack near Sakhakot area here, which the army soldiers retaliated but many deaths have been feared, in the deadly ambush.

Exchange of fire is still continue between both sides while many death from two sides have been predicted, ISPR added.
Army convoy ambushed in Sakhakot, deaths feared - GEO.tv
 
Malik denies reports about Fazlullah's killing, Sufis' arrest

ISLAMABAD (updated on: June 06, 2009, 03:28 PST): Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday denied the reports of the killing of Maulana Fazlullha and the arrest of Maulana Sufi Muhammad by security forces in the ongoing military operation, saying both the reports are incorrect. Talking to reporters outside Parliament House here Malik said that neither Fazalullah was killed nor he or Sufi Muhammad was arrested.

"Swat Operation is going on successfully and the situation for the return of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) would be clear within next few weeks", he added. He made it clear that the security forces had arrested some militant commanders and their deputies; however, Moulana Sufi Muhammad was not arrested. "There is no report of the arrest or killing of Moulana Fazalullah", he added. Malik expressed resolve to exterminate the terrorists from Swat and other parts of Malakand division in next few weeks, saying that the operation will soon culminate with a good note of elimination of terrorists from these areas.

Some would be suicide bombers have also been arrested during the military operation and their dens were destroyed and huge dumps of arms, ammunition and logistics was seized, which had broken the terrorists' back, Rehman Malik said. Malik said the areas of Mingora, Kalam and Buner have been cleared after military operation and people of these areas will return to their homes soon after restoration of utilities and other civic facilities in these areas.

To a question regarding the timeframe for the return of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), the minister said the infrastructure was badly affected in the Operation Zone and the daily use items were not available. He said that the forces have cleared Buner and the IDPs can return to their homes. Government is making efforts to repair the damaged infrastructure in the areas cleared by the army and the Special Support Group formed by the Prime Minister.
Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]
 
ANP denies any large-scale collateral damage in Buner

Saturday, June 06, 2009
By our correspondent

PESHAWAR: The Buner chapter of the Awami National Party (ANP) has dispelled the impression being created by certain quarters that large-scale civilian casualties and serious harm to public and private property has been reported in the district in the ongoing military operation.

However, elected representatives from Buner and members of ANP said the civilian population did not suffer huge losses as claimed by some quarters.

They said the party representatives recently conducted a survey in the district and it was found that the operation was targeted and precise, which resulted in less damage to non-combatants.

The revelation came during a meeting of the party office-bearers and legislators from the troubled district at the party’s central headquarters of Bacha Khan Markaz. Expressing satisfaction over the progress of the swoop, the office-bearers of the ANP demanded of the security forces to achieve the targets in the shortest possible period and clear the area of terrorists so that the uprooted families return home.

ANP denies any large-scale collateral damage in Buner
 
Advance units to provide cover for military convoys, VVIP
movement

Saturday, June 06, 2009
By Ikram Hoti

ISLAMABAD: Special units are being dispatched from Islamabad and provincial capitals plus the SSG and Army Aviation to give cover to the police and Army convoys that pass through hill-aprons in the NWFP and the upper Punjab.

The step for placing the Advance Combat Units is now being adopted as a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for such convoys after last Thursday’s bloody attack near Rustam on the Mardan-Buner Road. Six police officials, including DSP Mardan Rural Farid Bangash and SHO Sherullah Khan, besides Army Captain Meraj Khan and seven attackers who also used sniper guns in the attack were killed.

VVIPs and high-ranking diplomats would also be accorded the convoy-cover, which would include pre-check of the routes and due security cover, including the deployment of snipers and even gunship helicopters in certain cases. The authorities are awakening slowly but surely to the worsening situation and challenges posed by the terrorists who act on prior information on convoys, VVIPs and diplomatic movements, sources said.

This strategy of scanning the convoy routes and pre-empting the attackers had been prepared under former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao. The convoy that came under the vicious Taliban attack on Thursday night comprised police recruits who had freshly passed out from Hangu Training Centre and were being transported to Buner for re-establishing the police system there.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=181439

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Taliban shifting into fighting a more 'traditional' insurgency.

Unfortunately, so long as the Waziristan, Bajaur and the other agencies with TTP influence remain free of pressure, there will be arms and men to continue this fight in Swat and the surrounding areas, no matter how much damage the Pak. Mil. has done to the Swat Taliban.
 

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