Thanks. How is Operation Zarb-e-Azb faring? Is it proving effective? Will it prove effective? If yesterday's Peshawar school massacre is any indication then no, it is not. But then the operation is not yet completed.
I hope you are not mistaking me for a Pakistani, because I am an Indian. But I can tell you this, just as every action has a reaction, Operation Zarb-e-Azb will also have some effects: some good, and some bad. The Operation has been termed a great success by the ISPR (Pakistani Army's voice). And while many others, esp Pakistanis here, can give you details on how the operation is going on, I will tell you something different.
After having analyzed TTP's modus operandi for some time now, I have come to the conclusion that the TTP thrives on the the failure of the administration to keep the system (governance) effective. The large mass base in that region (Afghan-Pakistan border northeast of Quetta) has been lacking in basic facilities such as education, development, and infrastructure that we take as basic necessities. Such under development led to frustration among the masses and they became prone to join the militia factions (not all are TTP or Taliban, but they see the benefits of subscribing to these groups). The devastating floods of 2010 stood as stark example when government's neglect of the people was filled by the Taliban that helped restore the homes that people had lost. It was natural for the people of that region to look at the Taliban positively. Add to that the weapons market there that has grown so much that it can easily be considered world's largest weapons manufacturing region.
Now come to 2014. Operation Zarb-e-Azb, which is basically not a combing, but a sweeping operation leading to the flattening of a great number of houses, has led to a large influx of the people from that region into other areas. They are now homeless and are left with even fewer facilities to sustain life. From what I have read till now, they are again being neglected by the government - but this time they are desperate. They are soon to become an even larger base for the Taliban (and others, like Jamia Hafsa madrassa) to recruit from. The families are in such despair that they are not even motivated enough to keep any checks on the youth. This is a failure not on part of the Army, but on part of the government, because an operation does not merely entail shooting around and destroying the buildings (oh, and Mosques and seminaries are being spared - rest of the buildings are quite a target), it also involves proper restoration of the lost homes.
And I am very sure that the Taliban must be really busy recruiting the youth over there will full force as we discuss it here on this forum.
What the future holds, you can easily envision.