Pakistan vs. Taliban thread

[n21]

As expected we are back to peace deals.

Pakistan: No Military Campaign Against the Taliban - TIME

[antimony]

As expected we are back to peace deals.

The picture on the TIME magazine is very interesting



Note the different stances of the 2 main guys in the picture.

The guy in white has a lax grip and a finger on the trigger (SHUDDER), while the guy in fatigues seems to have a much firmer grip and a properly maintained trigger finger (out of the trigger guard). He also seems to have a more aggressive posture. I wonder if he has had "proper training", unlike his partner. Another interesting part is his much lighter skin tone. Wonder where he is from (for e.g., Chechenya?).

[Merlin]

The Pakistan Taliban is still strong after the killing of Baitullah Mehsud

Militant says Pakistani Taliban stronger than ever

1 day ago [AP] MIR ALI, Pakistan — Pakistan's Taliban movement is stronger than ever despite the killing of its top commander and will stage more suicide attacks if the army launches another offensive against it, a top militant told The Associated Press.

Qari Hussain Mehsud, known for training Taliban suicide bombers, met with an AP reporter Thursday at a secret location in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, just hours before a U.S. missile strike hit the tribal region and killed 12 people.

The U.S. has launched dozens of missiles to take out top Taliban and al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan's northwest over the past year. Although Pakistan routinely protests the strikes, it is widely believed to secretly cooperate with them.

One such missile strike in August killed Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, and Qari Hussain Mehsud's comments appeared to be the latest attempt by militants to end speculation of a rift among insurgent commanders following the killing. ....

The militant commander, who appeared to be in his 40s and had a curly black beard and mustache, was surrounded by dozens of other militants and local residents. At one point, he assured those gathered that Islam allowed suicide bombings.

The AP was given the interview on condition it not reveal the meeting's exact location and wait a day before publishing the remarks. ...

The commander said he had been appointed the latest spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban's new chief, Hakimullah Mehsud. He also acknowledged that he was leading a group of suicide bombers known as the "Fidayeen-e-Islam," and said the attackers were ready to give their lives if Pakistan proceeds with offensives in the tribal areas. ....

Pakistan's northwestern region bordering Afghanistan has provided Islamist militants with safe havens from which to plan attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. In particular, the mountainous, lawless tribal regions — where the government wields little control — are favored breeding grounds for insurgents, who have also attacked Pakistani government workers and security forces. ....

[Merlin]

They are able to do suicide bombings in different cities.

Pakistan suicide attacks signal Taliban's determination

At least 20 die in two car bombings, one in Peshawar near the U.S. consulate, and one in the town of Bannu, 125 miles south. The Pakistani Taliban is thought to be regrouping after its leader's death.

26 Sept [LATimes] Islamabad, Pakistan - Two suicide car bomb attacks Saturday killed at least 20 people and injured more than 150 others in northwest Pakistan, sending an ominous signal that the death of Taliban leader Baitullah Mahsud during the summer will not curb the Islamic militants' agenda for violence in this nuclear-armed state. ....

The surge in violence ended a lull in attacks following the Aug. 5 missile strike, believed to have been carried out by the U.S., that killed Mahsud, the Pakistani Taliban chief responsible for overseeing many of the suicide bomb attacks and other acts of terrorism inflicted on Pakistani cities and towns.

Following his death, the Taliban's movement in Pakistan found itself mired in disarray, as factions within the group fought over who should succeed Mahsud. In recent weeks, violence in northwest Pakistan had ebbed.

The group has since settled on one of Mahsud's deputies, Hakimullah Mahsud, as its leader. With the leadership question settled, there are growing signs that infighting among the Taliban has dissipated. ....

[Merlin]

This is going to be a major ground assult.

Pakistan readies for new assault on Bin Laden lair

Suicide bombers show their resilience with daring attack on UN offices in Islamabad as 28,000 troops mass for imminent strike in the mountains of South Waziristan

6 Oct [Independent] IN WHAT is likely to be its sternest challenge yet, Pakistan's military is poised to launch a major offensive in the coming days against militants in the remote mountainous terrain of South Waziristan, long rumoured to be the hiding place of Osama bin Laden.

After months of preparation that has involved massing 28,000 troops near the tribal area on the Afghan border, and after weeks of air strikes designed to soften up militant positions, senior military sources in Islamabad told The Independent that the long-awaited operation was imminent. The US has also increased drone strikes in the region to target key figures.

The operation to take on the 10,000-strong Mehsud network, formerly headed by Baitullah Mehsud, comes amid heavy pressure on Pakistan from Washington to continue its fight against militants, many of whom are involved in cross-border attacks on Western troops in Afghanistan. ....

[Merlin]

Apparently, a decision has been made to start the offensive operation.

Pakistan expects 'tough resistance' in Waziristan

3 hrs ago [AP] ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani army expects Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the South Waziristan tribal region to put up "tough resistance" against a military offensive, the army's chief spokesman said.

Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas also confirmed earlier reports that the military has completed preparations for what could be one of the most important operations against militants in Pakistan since 2001. South Waziristan is considered al-Qaida and the Taliban's major stronghold in the lawless northwest region bordering Afghanistan.

Abbas did not give a start date, but the way he referred to the operation suggested a decision had been made to launch one. ....

Abbas did not say what kind of operation may be in the works — a limited one relying mostly on air power or a fully fledged offensive with thousands of ground troops aimed at clearing, then holding the whole region. The army abandoned early offensives and signed peace deals with militants in Waziristan after they put up a fierce fight.

Moving forcefully into South Waziristan is likely to gain praise from the United States. U.S. officials have long pressed Pakistan to eliminate safe havens on its soil used by militants to plan attacks on American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. ....

[Merlin]

Bombing has started, but apparently not the ground operation.

Pakistan bombs Taliban targets in Waziristan

8 Oct [FT] Pakistan has started bombing Taliban targets in the north-western region of Waziristan as its army prepares for a ground operation in the lawless tribal area.

"We have sealed the area and are involved in aerial targeting [of Taliban locations]," Major General Athar Abbas, the top Pakistani military spokesman, told the Financial Times.

Gen Abbas did not disclose when the army would begin the ground campaign, but a Pakistani minister said the preparations were complete. He said the military needed to act before the winter snows started to fall next month.

"The preparations are fully in place. The timing has yet to be decided. We are in that phase where it is not a question of 'if' but 'when' an attack will take place," the minister said.

The US has long urged Islamabad to take more aggressive action in Waziristan, a remote tribal area on the border with Afghanistan where the Taliban and al-Qaeda have taken sanctuary, using the area to plan attacks inside Pakistan and Afghanistan. ....

A Pakistani intelligence official from the North-West Frontier Province where Waziristan is located said the military operation would come in several stages. "There will be very focused strikes including air strikes to soften enemy targets. Once this is achieved, the military will begin marching in," he said. ....

[Merlin]

The Talibans in Pakistan are showing their strength and continue to bomb.

Bomb in Pakistan's Peshawar sharpens prospect of military showdown

A suicide bomb that killed more than 40 people in a Peshawar market capped a week of provocative moves by the Taliban

9 Oct [CSMonitor] New Delhi - A suicide bomber that killed more than 40 people in the Pakistani frontier city of Peshawar capped a week of provocative moves by the Pakistani Taliban in defiance of a threatened military attack on their headquarters in the tribal region of South Waziristan. A military showdown now seems all but assured.

"We have no other option but to carry out an operation in South Waziristan," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told a local television station. "All roads are leading to South Waziristan. We will have to proceed."

Once again, it is ordinary ethnic Pashtuns caught between the traded blows and bravado of the militants and the state.

"Earlier there may have been some sympathies toward these Taliban or Al Qaeda, but … a reaction against them has been emerging," says Ijaz Khattak, a professor of international relations at Peshawar University. "There is a general view coming forth – one that isn't properly represented yet – where people simple ask, 'How do we get rid of these people?'"

At the same time, he adds, "people are losing confidence in the state's ability to provide them any protection."

The bomb struck Khyber Bazaar, a historic market frequented by lower- to middle-class shoppers. More than 100 people were also wounded in the blast.

The city's famed carpet merchants – many of whom are Afghans who fled their country's civil war – are starting to pack up their shops and leave. ....