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right now, I would criticize the lack of intel in there areas, and the lack of direct "surgical" type operations to cut off militants from their supply lines. it's quite apparent some people have never heard of satellite imagery before, I could have sworn hearing about China sharing their military satellite images with Pakistan. either that was just a baseless rumor, or our planners simply don't know how to analyze satellite images.
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My mistake, I should have mentioned that and then in that context I should have said that why Sufi is supporting FM. See this is officially painted stance of Sufi/GoP and yup, thats all nice n dandy, if one is to only believe in what he/she reads.
As a matter of fact, its widely believed in the closed quarters that Sufi is the main strategist for FM. He is sort of a screensaver for the crimes of FM (or who ever is supporting them). If Sufi is to come aggressive, he'd lose the opportunity to achieve what he started back in those days. So it's like a political move, by saying I renounced the violence and implementation of shariah and renouncing the actions of FM.
If that was case, he is useless to FM and FM would have never secured his release. He didn't secure Sufi's release only to have him renounce his violence and go against him, that he had to form TTS instead of TNSM that he was part of, you know. It's Sufi's political stunt nothing more. He is as much involved in it, as much one can think of. He still vows for Shariah Nizam, and if you'd remember back in october he refused the Govt. proposed Nizam-e-Adl and said he would only wants full sharia (true shariah, as he calls it). TNSM chief rejects Nizam-e-Adl Regulation, wants ‘real Shariah’
In the same article he said "Sufi said he would visit Swat for convincing militants to abandon militancy after the implementation of Shariah."
You see 'after implementation of Shariah' here... why not before? That's the support right there. His renouncing violence or distancing himself from FM is simply a political stunt. One can safely believe that he is the strategist.
Since FM himself is a petty criminal (if I'd be so generous to alot him some credibility), that's why we all are amazed, who is doing the strategies for him? who is teaching him how to fight? who is planning his moves that the entire GoP and PA could not handle him for 2 years, yet increased his power and grip on the valley.
So certainly, someone (whoever it is) is running the show that is why he is still out there, roaming freely, holding press conferences, running his radio untraceable, and moreover able to pull stunts (blowing things around) in tough curfews where even children are shot at if they show up in their windows.
To begin with, TTP is join venture of all these small little parties. In fact Fazullulah is headstrong on Baitullah and have supported him instead of baitullah supporting FM. And the peace deal was very clear, no person from TTP will be touched (not TTS, but all the groups coming under umbrella of TTP). And when Fed. Govt. captured the leader in Hangu (not even in FATA, but Hangu), it was a breach of truce deal from the GoP side (not provincial side, because Prov. govt. accuses GoP for not supporting them in the truce deal by making such incursions inside provincial area that ruined the truce).
So after that, even if they let go of the captured leader, it meant nothing to TTP establishment, as the truce was broken by GoP.
And I am not sure which incident of 2007 are you talking bout. Would you shed some more light on it perhaps? which group was involved at that time, what was the timing, whether TTP TTS came together, what were the circumstances etc. Because I know for sure that none of the peace deals were broken by the militants, rather they were pushed around by the GoP (why, we don't know).
As I remember one of FM's speeches, when his fighters were attacked while under the negotiations when he said he wont attack until he finds out if deals are made or not on mutual conscent, and yet hsi fighters were attacked, by jeorpodizing the deal and renewing the violence.
There was no deal about Dir. People of Dir have strictly refused Army to internvene in their matter and said they will take care of it and they did (just as Kohistan, Buner, Shangla Par, Che Kesar, etc.).
E.g. watch this video - Capital Talk - 18 September 2008 | pkpolitics.com
It's basically about Bajaur dignitaries questioning the heavy handedness of Army, but there's an MNA from Dir, who is confirming that Dir didn't take help of the military to control the militancy. So there was no deal with Sufi that he wont disturb Dir. If they can, they will, trust me, they just can't because there's no military, police etc. in Dir, hence nothing is challenged there, just as Kohistan, Buner and other areas.
And I would think 10 times before believing in what Rahman Malik says. I have never seen an incredibly uncredible man like him before.
Well I beg to differ, he wasn't defeated during that time. He was openly defiant, sending all sorts of messages, attacking matta left n right, blowing up Sangota and Kaanju at will.
If he was defeated 90%, easily within few months of operation, then how come just two months were enough for him to regroup and give a serious headache to Police, F.C. and Active Military for over a year now? The equation of timeframe is little off in my opinion.
So trust me, it's a sham that he took that time to regroup. In fact, in the time of truce, Army never left, it was very much there, just not conducting operation and was only firing when fired at (so to speak). This is why the question arises, how FM is allowed to get everything done with few thousand untrained (or poorly trained) men with AK47s, thumbing his nose (apparently) at one of the world's finest armies that have deployed over 40,000 troops alone in swat.
Don't you smell something fishy?
yes indeed I was talking about Bajaur (Khar is the main city there, quiet far from the Afghan border). And yes I read the army's excuse of flattening the villages so they can see. They have burned all our crops and cut down all our trees in Swat, where they are camped, I know very well they want to have sight.
But is this a strategy? destroy everything of your own people in order to protect them? What kind of protection is that? That's why I oppose this operational strategy. It has destroyed our citizens livlihood. They are very poor people, they are not able to re-build those simple mud houses that had been razed in thousands. Entire villages have been flattened, all of it. All markets have been brought down in Khar. for what? protect the citizens?
This is what your provided link from Sulekha says:
"In the meantime, the Pakistani army has used helicopter gunships and fighter jets to blast entire villages in Bajur to rubble, driving 250,000 tribesmen out of their homes"
That's just a small example. If you visit bajaur. It's almost flattened and over half a million made refugees, and what, when they will come back, will come back to?
Who will build their houses? who will pay for the damages to the civilian infrastructure that took 60 years to build (and you know that its nothing more than a basic infrastructure that took us 60 years to build in the first place)? Why, because Army wanted to secure themselves as they couldn't see who is shooting at them? What kind of strategy that would be that they can't deal with a guerrilla warfare in urban area?
I thought Army secures the property and lives of the people of the country they are recruited to defend. Not the other way around (people giving their lives, homs, properties, livlihoods, to protect the army).
Hence the strategy was a total catestrophy. The half a million people who were first displaced from their homes, now have no homes. They are not rich people. They are not middle class. They are not lower class. These people live under the poverty lines and have built these houses, markets and all God knows how. All is gone.
How would we do the damage control now? Where will be put the people whom houses we have razed, in fact entire villages, whatever infrastructure they had, is gone. What busineses they could run form markets, are gone, along the markets.
Who will feed them? Who will provide them shelters? We all know the earth Quake people, for whom we got billions, are still crying, yet something that we unnaturally raised due to our faulty strategies.
First of all, TTS does not butcher people just for the heck of it. I have to come across with one incident where they had shed a blood without a cause (tho it depends on the cause as well) but regardless, they know that if they will butcher people just like that, they will never be able to survive or gain support from locals. Thats for a fact.
The bodies of certain common people that are usually found in the streets and all, are basically local people settling their enmities. Farmers against the landlords, old enmities being sorted out, etc. etc. That's a ground fact.
And that happened because operation wrecked havoc and anarchy in the area and gave a chance to many people to settle their disputes and then robbers, gangsters, thiefs, getting their pockets filled.
As a matter of fact, TTS is super quick in providing justice to ppl on (I hate to admit) very fair bases. Let me give you an example. A guy from our town (Mingawara) went to local authorities to ask them to have this "qabza-group" removed from his land that is only source of his income. Local authorities (police etc.) told him army is incharge, they can't do anything. He went to Army, army refused that it can't help. He went to TTS, within 2 hours, he got his land back with an appology from the people holding it.
Similarly, there are many things I can tell you that TTS is doing for the people that the authorities should be taking care of. So trust me, TTS is not butchering anyone, rather helping people to gain more and more support against the failed govt. and a failed military operation that people already are questioning.
Well thats not really a destiny. The other side of the story, Swat is the shortest possible route between China and Afghansitan through Bishaam at silk route. China recently built that road wider and with material that made me question if it will be used for tanks in future or what. There are parts of the road, that are so straight between mountains that it almost look like a landing strip. The road also connects to Galiyat to Islamabad.
The rumour has it, in the event of NWFP falling to americans, that area is being prepared for Chinese armies to move in to protect their borders. So it's not really a destiny, it's a preplanned thing, if one is to kick in the conspiracy theories bucket.
Totally agree with that (and that is why I am here to raise this concern of aerial bombardment and tanks shelling, which had been miserablly failed and lost the people's support as well). If you show it to the people that you are there to protect them (not destroy their properties and lives), they will support you through and through.
So yes, it's deffinately SSG and intelligence network job. Absolutely.
The sources regarding his meetings with americans etc. in serena hotel, I probably would take ever to find the lectur eof Zaid hamid by re-watching every one of them to see where he quoted that, but here are some other sources as well: Shireen Niazi (defense analyst) article stating:
"A look at the Serena Hotel, Swat's guest book for the last two years, will reveal interesting information especially regarding the Americans who visited there dressed as locals, speaking Pushto (a point that had been made in an earlier column), and were in touch with Fazlullah."
Game Is Over For RAW, CIA & Their Collaborators In Zardari Govt
And here's Tariq Ali's take on it:
"while US intelligence experts regularly check into the Serena hotel in Swat to meet Maulana Fazlullah, a local pro-Taliban leader."
My voice Pakistan forum, Casualties of another war by Tariq Ali
We can only hope.
Absolutely. Thats my point. we gained absolutely nothing by pushing our armies to fight someone else' war for little goodies (that went to someone else pocket anyway). But the confusion regarding this entire thing is severe. Who is who, nobody can tell. And I certainly believe PA is not eliminating them, as it's not hard at all to eliminate them. they will strike deals with them, I can see it. That is why I believe there's some sort of bigger game being played, tho for what? I can only use my imaginations.
Yes certainly, Media has been exagarating it. I am from the area and I maintain 5 houses, 3 in swat and 2 in Peshawar. I can tell you from right now, the only people who migrated (well in thousands but way less than reported in the meda) are those who could afford, or have places to go. That's about it.
People saw Bajaur refugees status when many died out of cold, hunger and deseases being refugees and yet Govt. could not provide for them as promised for those refugees it drove out for operation. So the ground reality is, people are scared to believe in govt. and hence they are not becoming refugees, except those who can afford. Everyone else, only moves out from the area to adjacet village, while the operation goes on, and then moves back in to the rubbles of their houses.
It is funny if you have gone to Bajaur and then beleive in the reports that tunnels are dug. There's no way, no machinery in the world, can dig tunnels as long as media try to project it. The terrain is cruel. it's a series of mountains, not mud moutains, but dry stone mountains. And Khar is very far from Afghanistan. a tunnel from Afghan border to Khar, will be a miracle.
The article you provided says this:
"That's another cave. The tunnel runs from here, 100 meters to there."
More caves lie at the end of a 20-foot-deep (6.1-meter-deep), narrow mud staircase barely wide enough for a thin person."
That's how big the tunnels can be dug there. The original tunnels that were used by Pakistan to supply mujahideen in Soviet era, should have been already in control and or destroyed as they were between the two borders, not running from the cities to border (it's impossible to dig tunnels that long there in the mountains, except short ones).
In anywhichway, destroyign a 100 meter long tunnel or a 20 ft. wide cave, should not result in wiping the village. It means, there's something wrong in the strategy, or they don't care at all about people, it was just them against everyone else.
Of course not. But who are these people? You must understand that there are several groups involved in that area. Everyone having their own agenda. Foreigners (RAW/Mossad backed militants) are there too. Yet all of them are using talebans name to confuse the issue. So nobody knows who they were, who were doing these beheadings, etc. and engaging military, while claming to tbe from TTP, as several times, FM et al. refused to be carrying many different ops. Blowing up PTDC hotel in malam Jabba is one of them and the killings of several people found in the fields etc. is another.
so this confusion is clearly created by someone who have some sort of objectives behind this military operation. One being engaging military with civilian society to create a gap between the two. The other being top brass pushing the army on behest of U.S. pretext of WoT for their petty interests. Both pointing towards one thing, someone engaging the military with civilian society to create this gap between two (like they did with saddam hussain, and talebans, by first supporting them and engaging them with civilians, then telling civilians we will liberate you from the so called rulers).
Oh absolutely agree, but the point is, nothing works. The civilian institutes blame Military and Military blames civilian institutes. So whats the solution? who to blame being a neutral person? since people inclining towards military would take their side and those inclining towards politicians will take their side. Where's the equation, the neutral approach? who is at fault? and how to fix it?
Well the article really used the term interventions and that's how its been put:
"Kayani insists he's a committed democrat, but he nevertheless argues that military interventions (there have been four since independence 61 years ago) are sometimes necessary to maintain Pakistan's stability. He likens coups to temporary bypasses that are created when a bridge collapses on democracy's highway. After the bridge is repaired, he says, then there's no longer any need for the detour."
The Newsweek 50: Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani | Newsweek The Global Elite | Newsweek.com
It was sidely reported on pakistani media as well, using the term intervention in english and "mudakhalat" in urdu media outlets.
I would languish on the wills of anybody than bowing my head on enemy's feet and live without a dignity and being bitchslapped around the globe by every single ton dick or harry as a beggers are not choosers (on an argument that US pays us so we can't fight back). I am raised to live as a free person, with a dignified and honourable life for myself and for my country, even if I have to lose my lifeto preserve the dignity of my nation.
It further confuses when we see that when our side of the border isbreached, then it's nothing, we can't fight, we have no means to fight, we can't match the enemy, blah blah blah, but when eastern side of the border is under tension, the entire army is ready to take on 10 times more stronger enemy, threatneing to nuke, and making all sorts of claims that it will be in no time that we will beat the 10 times bigger army and knock some sense in them.
Perhaps these are the events that make people think that why there are dual standards. They say is it the life of the tribal people worth nothing than a collateral damage, while in the east it becomes life n death and dignity and honour problem even if India raises an eye brow? Or is it because there is some sort of a covert deal struck between top military brass and america to play this drama on western border under the pretext of WoT to justify and legitimize American occupation and advances, while renting our army to them for petty self interests.
You see, all kinds of things comes up in mind of the people when people see how the things are dealt on the ground.
And where do you want them to go? To whom? how would they feed themselves? hide under which shelters?
And I agree it's not a simple warfare, but the strategy has been adapated is very simple - Bomb everything in the sight. Sure, you can understand that, but ask those who are living under those conditions, whether they will understand or not. And may God never bring this upon you, but you don't know how a person feels when he sees his entire family perished in minutes by tank shells or Fighter Jets that are suppose to be for protecting him... there's no understanding on his or people losing loved ones, in this regard.
Therefore the strategy should change at once to surgical operation, as you said, SSG + massive intel network. Nothing else is going to work but would exactly do what the enemy wants, create massive gap between armed forces and civilian society, with every bomb they drop.
Thank you for your time and understanding.
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