Pakistan suffers reverses in offensive against militants
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All-Green
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Sorry my friend but we are not fighting to generate material for the history channel...guess you have to make do with the WW2 documentaries...
In the annals of our nation's military history...Stalingrad is of no consequence...whereas this little victory is certainly ours to appreciate...no matter how small...
For the White Skin worshiping, demoralized and COIN illiterate Pakistan Army to come this far in the fight against the ultimate warriors...makes one wonder what is going on...could it be that they are genuinely motivated for some mysterious reason?
Maybe it is called fighting for their own country and its people against those who spill innocent blood and create chaos...could it be a real Jihad?
I am sure that is what they called it in olden days...
XYON
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Peter Goodspeed: All of Pakistan becoming warzone
As Pakistani troops battled on Monday for control of the small South Waziristan town of Kotkai, the hometown of the Pakistani Taliban's two top leaders, suicide bombers walked into the heart of the University of Islamabad and blew themselves up, killing seven people and wounding 26 others.
Within hours, Qari Hussain, the man responsible for recruiting and training the Taliban's suicide bombers, laid claim to the attack in a telephone call to the BBC and said his organization now considers all Pakistan to be a war zone.
Four days into the main military offensive of Operation Rah-e-Nijat (the Path to Salvation) and Pakistan is bracing for more bloodshed. There is a clear possibility the country could plunge into civil war.
Yesterday's near-simultaneous bombings outside a packed women's cafeteria and at the Islamic law faculty were the seventh major terrorist attack in Pakistan in just two weeks.
Recent suicide bombings in Peshawar, Shangla, Kohat and Islamabad, combined with full-blown military assaults on police targets in Lahore and Peshawar and the Pakistan Army's general headquarters in Rawalpindi, have dramatically picked up the pace of a terror campaign that appears increasingly to be co-ordinated between the Pakistani Taliban and Punjabi Islamist insurgents with links to al-Qaeda.
Rather than restricting their activities to the troubled tribal areas or to slinking across the border into Afghanistan, the Taliban are threatening to spread their fight into the heart of Pakistan.
Hours after yesterday's bombings, the southern province of Sindh closed all private and public schools for a week out of fear of further Taliban attacks.
Islamist terrorism has broken out of its boundaries in the tribal belt and become a national threat. Rather than staying to fight a full-blown war with the army in the hills and gullies of South Waziristan, Hakimullah Mehsud, head of Tehrik-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP, the Pakistani Taliban), appears to have adopted a strategy of spreading chaos.
A guerrilla leader who sprang to prominence leading attacks on NATO's Afghan supply convoys in the Khyber Pass, he is now threatening to step up attacks on government services across Pakistan.
If the core of the TTP's leadership is not crushed quickly during the current military offensive, there will likely be a rash of suicide bombings, insurgent attacks and car bombings all over Pakistan.
Karachi, the country's commercial capital and home to nearly three million Pashtun tribesmen, could easily become a major terrorist target, the site of a bloody and brutal urban battle like post-war Baghdad.
The Pakistani Taliban have already shown signs they have learned the deadly trade secrets al-Qaeda employed so effectively in the Iraq insurgency. They are expanding their use of sophisticated explosives and suicide bombers with the intention of inflicting massive civilian casualties.
A stepped-up terror campaign will seek to drive a wedge between Pakistan's military and the fledgling and fractious civilian government.
It would also aim to sap public support for continuing to fight in the tribal belt.
The South Waziristan offensive is the military's fourth attempt since 2001 to crush rebels in the tribal areas. Three earlier operations bogged down in bloody fighting and ended with the government signing peace deals that ultimately allowed the Taliban to regroup, even expand their influence.
It is obvious the army has no intention of fighting a prolonged battle in South Waziristan. The 30,000 troops committed to Operation Rah-e-Nijat are nowhere near the 370,000 to 430,000 soldiers the New America Foundation says would be needed to hold the tribal areas and meet the minimum force-to-population ratios prescribed by traditional counter-insurgency doctrine.
By focusing its assault on the portion of South Waziristan occupied by the Mehsud clan, the military has already cut a non-aggression pact with other Pashtun tribal leaders who continue to send insurgents into Afghanistan to fight NATO troops.
Pakistan is only interested in crushing those elements of the Taliban that pose a direct domestic threat.(coz elimination of Afghan Taliban is not responsibility of Pak) The army in South Waziristan has agreed not to bother two rival Wazir tribal leaders, Maulvi Nazir and Gul Bahadur, in exchange for being allowed to move freely through their districts in North Waziristan.
That's bound to infuriate the United States and NATO countries who have been pressuring Islamabad to crack down on all Taliban who are destabilizing Afghanistan.
But Pakistan's generals, the original patrons of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, are reluctant to renounce the group entirely.
They fear the United States and the West may suddenly abandon the region before Afghanistan is stabilized and want to retain enough influence with the Taliban to have a say in any final settlement.
"There is always a strategy to isolate your main target," Major General Athar Abbas, Pakistan's chief military spokesman, said yesterday as he described Pakistan's understanding with elements of the Taliban in North Waziristan.
"Sometimes we have to talk to the devil in this regard."
Peter Goodspeed: All of Pakistan becoming warzone
Has this frekin' IDIOT reporter ever been out of his town let alone know about Pakistan. From his article it seems he just finished watching Independence Day and then thought to write something on Pakistan. Guess dumbwits are to be found everywhere!!
XYON
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^^^Here is the bit of a reality jolt for this Goon Reporter!!
Army captures Pakistani Taliban leader's hometown - Yahoo! News
ISLAMABAD – Soldiers captured the strategically located hometown of Pakistan's Taliban chief Saturday after fierce fighting, officials said, the army's first major prize as it pushes deeper into a militant stronghold along the Afghan border.
A suspected U.S. missile killed 22 people elsewhere in the northwest, but apparently missed a top Taliban figure, authorities said.
Pakistan's eight-day-old offensive in the Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold of South Waziristan is considered its most critical test yet in the campaign to stop the spread of violent Islamist extremism in this nuclear-armed, U.S.-allied country. The army operation has prompted a wave of retaliatory attacks by militants this month that have killed some 200 people.
The battle for Kotkai town took several days and involved aerial bombardment as soldiers captured heights around the town. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said troops were now ridding the town of land mines and roadside bombs planted by the insurgents.
Kotkai is symbolically important because it is the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud and one of his top deputies, Qari Hussain. It also lies along the way to the major militant base of Sararogha, making it a strategically helpful catch.
"Thank God, this is the army's very big success," Abbas said. "The good news is that (communications) intercepts show that there are differences forging among the Taliban ranks. Their aides are deserting them."
Pakistan is under intense international pressure to clear its tribal areas of insurgents, many of whom are blamed for attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. The government has pressed ahead in South Waziristan despite a wave of violence that has put the nation on edge. Bombings on Friday alone killed 24 people, including 17 headed to a wedding.
The army said Saturday that three more soldiers had died, putting the army's death toll at 23, and 21 more militants had been killed, putting their overall death toll at 163.
Access to the tribal belt is severely restricted, making independently verifying the army's information all but impossible.
The U.S. has launched scores of missile strikes at militant targets in the tribal belt over the past year, killing several top militants including former Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud. The latest strike hit Chuhatra village in the tribal region of Bajur, local government official Mohammad Jamil said.
The missile hit a hide-out of the militants that included a tunnel. The target appeared to be Faqir Mohammad, a prominent Taliban leader, but he is believed to have escaped, Jamil said. Most of the 22 killed were Afghan nationals, he said.
Pakistan formally protests the missile strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty and raise sympathy for the Taliban, while the U.S. rarely discusses the attacks. Analysts believe the two sides have a secret deal allowing the strikes.
The U.S. has shown no sign of easing the drone-fired attacks even when Pakistan is waging its own fight in the tribal areas. Asked if the missile attacks are a distraction or help, the army spokesman said Pakistan would prefer to go it alone.
"We do not want any assistance or interference from outside," Abbas said.
He further added that a mysterious explosion Wednesday in North Waziristan — initially described by intelligence officials as a suspected U.S. missile attack — had turned out to be a blast caused when explosives being loaded onto a vehicle accidentally detonated.
The U.N. says some 155,000 civilians have fled the region. The International Committee of the Red Cross said Saturday that it is worried about civilians left behind, but it has no way to verify claims about their status because it has no presence there.
"We want access both to the areas affected by the fighting and also to the people arrested as part of the operation," said Sebastien Brack, a Red Cross spokesman in Islamabad.
The army has deployed some 30,000 troops to South Waziristan against about 12,000 Taliban militants, including up to 1,500 foreign fighters, among them Uzbeks and Arabs.
___
Associated Press writers Habib Khan in Khar, Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Nahal Toosi in Islamabad and Hussain Afzal in Parachinar contributed to this report.
Army captures Pakistani Taliban leader's hometown - Yahoo! News
ISLAMABAD – Soldiers captured the strategically located hometown of Pakistan's Taliban chief Saturday after fierce fighting, officials said, the army's first major prize as it pushes deeper into a militant stronghold along the Afghan border.
A suspected U.S. missile killed 22 people elsewhere in the northwest, but apparently missed a top Taliban figure, authorities said.
Pakistan's eight-day-old offensive in the Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold of South Waziristan is considered its most critical test yet in the campaign to stop the spread of violent Islamist extremism in this nuclear-armed, U.S.-allied country. The army operation has prompted a wave of retaliatory attacks by militants this month that have killed some 200 people.
The battle for Kotkai town took several days and involved aerial bombardment as soldiers captured heights around the town. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said troops were now ridding the town of land mines and roadside bombs planted by the insurgents.
Kotkai is symbolically important because it is the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud and one of his top deputies, Qari Hussain. It also lies along the way to the major militant base of Sararogha, making it a strategically helpful catch.
"Thank God, this is the army's very big success," Abbas said. "The good news is that (communications) intercepts show that there are differences forging among the Taliban ranks. Their aides are deserting them."
Pakistan is under intense international pressure to clear its tribal areas of insurgents, many of whom are blamed for attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. The government has pressed ahead in South Waziristan despite a wave of violence that has put the nation on edge. Bombings on Friday alone killed 24 people, including 17 headed to a wedding.
The army said Saturday that three more soldiers had died, putting the army's death toll at 23, and 21 more militants had been killed, putting their overall death toll at 163.
Access to the tribal belt is severely restricted, making independently verifying the army's information all but impossible.
The U.S. has launched scores of missile strikes at militant targets in the tribal belt over the past year, killing several top militants including former Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud. The latest strike hit Chuhatra village in the tribal region of Bajur, local government official Mohammad Jamil said.
The missile hit a hide-out of the militants that included a tunnel. The target appeared to be Faqir Mohammad, a prominent Taliban leader, but he is believed to have escaped, Jamil said. Most of the 22 killed were Afghan nationals, he said.
Pakistan formally protests the missile strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty and raise sympathy for the Taliban, while the U.S. rarely discusses the attacks. Analysts believe the two sides have a secret deal allowing the strikes.
The U.S. has shown no sign of easing the drone-fired attacks even when Pakistan is waging its own fight in the tribal areas. Asked if the missile attacks are a distraction or help, the army spokesman said Pakistan would prefer to go it alone.
"We do not want any assistance or interference from outside," Abbas said.
He further added that a mysterious explosion Wednesday in North Waziristan — initially described by intelligence officials as a suspected U.S. missile attack — had turned out to be a blast caused when explosives being loaded onto a vehicle accidentally detonated.
The U.N. says some 155,000 civilians have fled the region. The International Committee of the Red Cross said Saturday that it is worried about civilians left behind, but it has no way to verify claims about their status because it has no presence there.
"We want access both to the areas affected by the fighting and also to the people arrested as part of the operation," said Sebastien Brack, a Red Cross spokesman in Islamabad.
The army has deployed some 30,000 troops to South Waziristan against about 12,000 Taliban militants, including up to 1,500 foreign fighters, among them Uzbeks and Arabs.
___
Associated Press writers Habib Khan in Khar, Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Nahal Toosi in Islamabad and Hussain Afzal in Parachinar contributed to this report.
All-Green
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Yeah ironic is it not...we actually kill our own soldiers in the PAF bombing...otherwise the TTP do not even manage to hit us with those AA guns using black powder and lead pellets...
Wish to face the same pot shot guns doing their little fireworks in all parts of Pakistan?
All-Green
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arslan_treen
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we realy do .. i am thinking now is there realy a writer like that or is some phoney correspondence made up by newspaper for spreading there BS !
Did the ISI hear that?Brother Hakimullah is it really you?
Here is Hakimullah's brother and your Army is scouring all over the mountain tops?
All-Green
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Oh i am sorry are we all not Brothers anymore?
It seems there is more than meets the eye, regarding the concept of Ummah and brotherhood...
I thought we are all brothers no matter what...is that not right, brother?
Bozkurt Turk Begi
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As I understand Pakistani Taliban and Afghan Taliban are different from each other.The US invasion of Afghanistan is the factor that created Pakistani Taliban.It seems to me Pakistani Taliban is supported by India and United States in order to destablize the country and form a pashtunistan.The Pakistani Taliban and Afghan Taliban do not have any relation with each other.the first one we call the fake taliban.whereas Afghan Taliban just fight against US for indepence.
No use trying to cover your trail now. Run for your life All-Green. The ISI is on your tail. They now know how their enemies have dispersed and concealed among the people in cities.Oh i am sorry are we all not Brothers anymore?
It seems there is more than meets the eye, regarding the concept of Ummah and brotherhood...
I thought we are all brothers no matter what...is that not right, brother?
No wonder Lahore is burning.
Hi Bozkurt Turk - Tunay Din, Sorry to digress here - But would you know where Vahit Toncay might be. Should be an Air Marshal now from Turk Hava Kavaleri, an old friend I lost.
All-Green
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Thanks for the concern my friend...but nowhere to run for the likes of me...the smell of foreign lands are not yet precious to me...
And hey what is the ISI compared to the TTP when dealing with prisoners...surely the wrath of the true and chosen warriors of TTP is a sight to behold, given one does not have a weak stomach
ISI is a softy...i guess they are just not pure enough and cannot get the right inspiration to go on chopping heads and bombing people to bits...blessed is the TTP and its holy vengeance upon this land of sinners like me.
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