Pakistan vs. Taliban thread

[Ironduke]

Pakistan steps up Swat offensive

Pakistan's military is stepping up an offensive against the Taleban, after a weekend in which it said it killed 200 militants in and near the Swat valley.

It has begun an artillery bombardment of militant positions.

The UN refugee agency has meanwhile warned of an increase in the number of civilians being displaced as tens of thousands flee the fighting.

The medical director of one district told the BBC the provincial government was coping well with the displaced.

Meanwhile at least six people were killed and several wounded in a suicide car bomb attack on a checkpoint near the city of Peshawar.

The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says the military has been using heavy artillery to soften up the Taleban, which is currently in control of large parts of Swat valley.

Fighting is continuing throughout Malakand region, which includes Swat, Dir and Buner.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said about 200 militants were killed over the weekend, bringing the total killed in fighting in the region to 700, but it is impossible to independently confirm these figures.

The government has vowed to eliminate the militants, but our correspondent says this could be a long and difficult battle.

Civilians have been taking advantage of the lifting of a curfew to leave violence-hit areas, but our correspondent says security forces are no longer allowing them though.

Arshad Ahmed Khan, the medical director of Mardan district, called for help from international aid agencies to deal with the problem.

"The provincial government is ... providing a very great job to these IDPs [internally displaced persons], including free medicine, free food, even the clothes are provided by the government," he told the BBC.

"We are doing our level best and we are catering for the IDPs, but still we feel that now is the prime time that the NGOs, they should come forward and they should take part in this activity."

The government says it expects a million internally displaced people.

Killian Kleinschmidt, deputy head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Pakistan, said more than 300,000 people had been registered as displaced at camps or registration centres.

Pakistan's government signed a peace agreement with the Swat Taleban in February, allowing Sharia law there, a move sharply criticised by Washington.

The militants then moved towards the capital, Islamabad, causing further alarm.

Up to 15,000 troops have now been deployed in the Swat valley and neighbouring areas to take on up to 5,000 militants.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has called the conflict a "fight for the survival of the country".

Source: BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan steps up Swat offensive

[Oscar]

The Pakistani Army doesn't want to eradicate the Taliban, it may roll them back, contain them, but they still need them to fight India and the US backed regime in Afghanistan.

[sumob]

This is all one hell of a stage managed show. If you add up more than 700 Taliban fighters have been killed. the question is how many were there in the first place.

The entire operation is being done safely from a distance, using Helicopter Gunships, Artillery and Tanks firing from a safe distance.

Like US and NATO troops are doing in Afganistan, PA will have to commit large number of troops on the ground to hold on to the territory. They will have to do regular patrols on the mountain top. This will result in real action and then the body bags will start coming home.The public opinion will change. That will be the test of the GOP.

[ghatotkacha]

Well ... guess the folks who had to move out kinda disagree with what Pakistani army is saying ...

Looks like a dog & pony show for the benefit of the Americans ...

Cynicism among Pakistani refugees

By Abdul Hai Kakar
BBC Urdu service, Peshawar

The tent cities are growing in the district of Swabi, in north-west Pakistan: swelled with the thousands fleeing the fighting in nearby Buner district.

Last month, Taleban from the troubled district of Swat moved south into Buner and overran it, occupying government offices and police stations, and closing down locally popular Sufi shrines which they oppose.

The army moved in a couple of weeks ago to counter them, and is now engaged in heavy fighting in the area.

According to Shahram Khan, the head of Swabi district government, around 150,000 people have fled Buner during the last few days. This is three times the figure of 40,000 previously provided by the federal government.

Most of these people have ended up in about a dozen refugee camps set up by the government in Swabi.

'Pouring in'

Many of these camps are funded by private individuals. Others are supported by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme, others by foreign and local NGOs.


“ The Taleban captured our area and... threatened local people. But that wasn't as bad as the shelling by the army ”
Nasir Ali, displaced high-school student
The government of North West Frontier Province has already earmarked money to take care of the refugees, and it is now reaching most camps.

One such camp is located in Chhota Lahore town of Swabi district.

There are rows of tents supplied by the UNHCR. Most are family shelters, but some also house one school each for boys and girls, as well as a medical dispensary.

"Tents are in short supply, and we also expect food shortages in coming days as refugees from Buner continue to pour in," says Kabir Khan, the administrator of the camp.

The refugees are, in the main, happy with the supply of food and other necessities, but nonetheless they say they cannot live in a refugee camp forever.

'Talks needed'

"Our problem is not here, but back in Buner," says Bakht-e-Rahman, a refugee from the Cheena area of Buner.


"Even if you give us a palace to live in here, the problem up there remains. For that, the government needs to talk to the Taleban."

I point out that talks have been held, but after the government met all its demands, the Taleban still refused to lay down arms.

But Mr Rahman was not convinced, saying the negotiations which surrounded the creation of the peace deal were not exhaustive enough to tackle all the issues.

Most displaced people say they have left their homes not because of the Taleban's excesses, but because of shelling by the army.

"The Taleban captured our area and started patrolling the streets, they snatched vehicles from NGO staff, government officials and private individuals, and they threatened local people," says Nasir Ali, a high school student.

"But it wasn't as bad as the shelling by the army - that was what actually forced us to leave our homes."

Perils of fleeing

Many people waited a long time before they got the opportunity to flee. And then they walked for hours to reach safety, with women and children in tow.


Rahim Khan, from Chamno village, is one of them.

"When the shelling got too close and the women and children started to cry, we decided to leave, but we couldn't. Several people died or got hurt trying to get to the road.

"Then there was a lull in shelling, and about 1,000 villagers fled. About 500 are still there."

Mr Khan's family, which includes several women and children and his old mother, walked for three hours before they were able to get a ride to Swabi.

'Same coin'

I interviewed a large number of refugees in Swabi, but I did not meet a single person who actually saw the army and the Taleban as members of opposing camps.

Instead, I heard, they were "two sides of the same coin".

"The Pakistani army has hurt us badly - but while they have killed civilians, I swear I haven't seen a single shell directed at the Taleban," says Shahdad Khan, a refugee sheltering at a camp in Swabi's Shave Ada area.

Others question the Pakistani military's stated commitment to "eliminating" the Taleban.

"No way," Siraj tells me.

"The army brought the Taleban to our area! It's politics. The Taleban and the army are brothers."
Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Cynicism among Pakistani refugees

Published: 2009/05/08 17:34:10 GMT

© BBC MMIX

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[Parihaka]

You have to remember the Taliban propaganda machine is as extensive as their fighting wing. The above article is an example of that, aimed squarely at the domestic Pakistani audience.

[ghatotkacha]

Well ... here is some fulsome praise for the Pakistani Army from its National Assembly ...

ISLAMABAD: Questions were raised in the National Assembly on Wednesday about the army operation in Swat and Malakand districts and a Pakistan Muslim League-N lawmaker warned of a severe turmoil in the country if immediate remedial measures were not taken.

In a departure from the sentiments expressed in the house in previous days, Khawaja Saad Rafiq said that a majority of MNAs would like to keep away from the proceedings of the house because they felt it has turned into a debating club rather than a sovereign body which should take major national decisions.

They felt that the policies pursued by Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf remained basically unchanged. He said that while the US and UK urged Sri Lanka to stop military offensive against Tamil rebels they expected Pakistan to ‘do more’ if they wanted to get more dollars.

He said: ‘No doubt, Taliban’s understanding of Islam and their fanatic ideas about imposition of Islam are not acceptable to any Pakistani and their negative attitude is putting Pakistan on the defensive.’

He asked the government if it had sent ulema, politicians or parliamentarians to engage militant leader Fazlullah in dialogue, instead of dealing with an ineffective Sufi Mohammad.

He said efforts should have been made to defuse the situation before launching such a big operation for which four divisions of army had been sent and a few brigades had been withdrawn from the eastern borders.

The army, which had no record of winning any war in the past, including in 1965 and 1971, should have plugged routes of Taliban’s movement towards Shangla and Buner after enforcement of Nizam-i-Adl, he said.

He said the army was misguiding the people with claims about its successes which were not verified by an independent and authoritative body. He said that if military operation in Balochsitan was wrong how could it become necessary in Malakand?

PML-Q lawmaker from Shangla Amir Muqam protested against what he termed government’s inaction over proposals made by representatives from troubled areas about people stranded in the conflict zone and the displaced people over the past two days.

He threatened to boycott the proceedings of the house if the government’s attitude did not change. He said the displaced people were suffering because of lack of food and basic amenities like electricity, water and kitchen utensils, while the government’s attention appeared to be more on getting foreign aid.

Rana Tanvir Hussain of the PML-N said the government should have consulted parliamentary leaders of all groups before launching the operation.

Her said people of the country were saying that the operation had been launched on the directives of the US and in order to get more dollars. Birjis Tahir of the PML-N called for accountability of former president Pervez Musharraf.

He said a parliamentary commission should investigate the circumstances in which the dialogue process had been sabotaged and the intelligence agencies’ failure to warn of the brewing crisis.

Shahnaz Wazir Ali of the Pakistan People’s Party said the action had become inevitable because of the inflexible attitude of extremist elements.

She said it had become ‘our own war’ which needed to be won at all cost. She called upon legislators to help mitigate the sufferings of the displaced people.

Sardar Bahadur Khan of the PML-Q criticised the authors of the Nizam-i-Adl Regulation, saying it could not be accepted as an alternative law in the entire region. He warned against the possibility of terrorists infiltrating into IDP camps.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/daw ... ion--bi-09

Copyright © 2009 - Dawn Media Group

Eyebrows raised over Swat action in NA

[sumob]

Well ... here is some fulsome praise for the Pakistani Army from its National Assembly ...



Eyebrows raised over Swat action in NA

Sir,

This link does not seem to be working. Please could you give us the correct link.

This is what the PA was afraid of that they would start facing criticism of their actions/tactics in Swat.

[axeman]

The link is fine. Works for me.

The army, which had no record of winning any war in the past, including in 1965 and 1971

Well, it look them a few decades to figure it out !

[antimony]

Well ... here is some fulsome praise for the Pakistani Army from its National Assembly ...



Eyebrows raised over Swat action in NA

Lets be honest, he should not be doing this kind of public laundry washing. It affects morales of the PA/ FC troops. This is synanymous with what the commies and naxalites do about IA operations in Kashmir or Code Pink does to US troops in Astan

[Knaur Amarsh]

Pakistan Says It Cleared Key Areas from Taliban

SALMAN MASOOD

Published: May 24, 2009

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Ten Taliban militants have been killed in fierce street battles as Pakistan Army on Sunday claimed that it had captured important neighborhoods of Mingora, the largest city in the contested Swat valley. Six troops were killed while six others were injured, according to a statement released by the Pakistani Army.

Fourteen militants were arrested as security troops moved from street to street in Mingora city in an offensive that is seen as one of the decisive phases of the military’s push to gain control of Swat from the Taliban. Until now, the battle between the military and the Taliban was confined to the mountainous countryside and villages of Swat. But Mingora, about 100 miles from the capital, could prove to be the toughest challenge. Militants have ensconced themselves in urban neighborhoods, where they command the rooftops of houses and other buildings.

While the claims were difficult to verify, an army spokesman said that troops had also entered Piochar village. The remote valley of Piochar is considered to be one of the main strongholds of Taliban in Swat.

Curfew was relaxed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Matta and Khawazakhela, two towns that have been cleared of militants.

Pakistan military officials said they were bracing for an intense, bloody fight and reported on Saturday that 17 militants had been killed in clashes, though the claim also could not be independently verified.

“It’s a very intense battle,” Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the spokesman, said on Saturday. “Everyone is sniping one another.”

As infantry troops move in, the use of aerial strikes and artillery against the militants is constrained because of the presence of civilians in the city. Exactly how many civilians are trapped there is unclear. Throughout the region, hundreds of thousands of residents have fled the fighting, and there were estimates by government officials that only 10,000 residents remained in what was recently a city of 200,000.

Still, there have been fears of large-scale civilian casualties, and the authorities have mostly barred journalists from entering the area, making it difficult to verify what is happening. Even the military seemed unsure of how many civilians remained.

“It is difficult to estimate how many civilians or militants are present in the city,” General Abbas said on Saturday.

He said that troops had captured the Continental Hotel, a famous tourist destination, and were trying to clear neighborhoods. Intense fire was being exchanged at one of the main intersections of the city.

The military has previously said that it had cleared militant strongholds in Khawazakhela, one of the largest cities in Swat; Matta; and Bini Baba Ziarart, and that it was closing in on another stronghold in Piachar, in the upper Swat Valley.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/25/wo...n.html?_r=1&hp

[Officer of Engineers]

God Bless the Fallen.

Present Arms.

[Khan Sahab]

I don't believe Pak Army is playing the old game again... The general view in Pakistan for Taliban has greatly changed especially after the Ulema (scholars) of all religious schools of thought in Pakistan: the Sunnis (Barelvi and Deobandi), Shiites and even Salafis (moderate Wahhabis) have formed a joint front against them and have shown support for the Army operation. Majority of Pakistanis either support the action or stay quit. There is no public opposition.
Moreover No political party has opposed the military action aswell, atleast not uptil now.
This is a good signal for the army which refrained from allout assault on Taliban in the past, due to the fear of public anger and political opposition.

[Officer of Engineers]

There were militias that rosed up against the Taliban. What happened to them?

[Khan Sahab]

There were militias that rosed up against the Taliban. What happened to them?

Those ones were in Dir and Bajaur. And I ain't sure they were equipped to combat Taliban, who, as the Army says, are using weapons far more sophisticated then those used by the FC.

[Officer of Engineers]

Big question here. Has it become Pakistan's war or is it still America's war?