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Reply With QuoteThis hotel was suppose to be a future American "consulate" in Peshawar. There were reports that US was planning to buy it.Originally Posted by Merlin
I will wait until Pakistan is actually fighting the "entire" Taliban. Taliban's Punjabi allies are silent on PA's offensive,despite the fact that good percentage of manpower for "Taliban" comes from Punjab.
Which means the guys getting pounded are Pashtuns tribes.It also explains the counter attacks in Punjab region(Lahore etc).
The ones who are involved in Afghan attacks and have Punjabi manpower are still intact.
This hotel was suppose to be a future American "consulate" in Peshawar. There were reports that US was planning to buy it.
The Talibans in Pakistan are bombing mosques in cities in revenge.
Blast kills cleric who denounced suicide attacks
12 June ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A moderate Muslim cleric who denounced suicide attacks as forbidden by Islam was killed Friday in a suicide attack on his mosque in Lahore, authorities said.
Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi was the first imam in Pakistan to issue a fatwa, or religious edict, against suicide attacks in Pakistan.
On Friday, a suicide bomber approached Naeemi as he left the Jamia Naimia Mosque and religious school. The bomber detonated his explosives, killing Naeemi and two others, police said. Another 10 people were wounded in the attack.
Naeemi had recently received death threats because of his opposition to the Taliban and his support of the current Pakistani military offensive against Taliban militants, his son told local television.
It was one of two mosque bombings in Pakistan on Friday, which has suffered a series of attacks in the wake of its ongoing military campaign against Taliban militants. ....
I just posted that in the Thailand thread as a follow up to my discussion with B/Fella .
TANKIE. ECO WARRIOR , SAVE THE TREES
Will they be able to hit home?
Pakistani warplanes hit Baitullah Mehsud stronghold
WANA, Pakistan, June 13 (Reuters) - Pakistani warplanes bombed a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in the South Waziristan tribal region on Saturday, witnesses and intelligence officials said.
The airstrike came amid mounting expectations that the army will launch an offensive in a region long regarded as a hotbed of Taliban and al Qaeda activity, as the army enters the final stages of another offensive in the Swat valley, further to the northwest and closer to Islamabad. .....
Good for them , a posotive action ,, go pak go
Last edited by tankie; 13 Jun 09, at 12:57.
TANKIE. ECO WARRIOR , SAVE THE TREES
This report would be significant news if confirmed to be true.
Al Qaeda commanders reported killed, wounded in Pakistan
16 June [LWJ] Unconfirmed reports from Pakistan indicate that a senior al Qaeda military commander was killed and the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan was wounded during clashes in the tribal areas.
Qari Zia Rahman, a senior al Qaeda military commander who operates along the Afghan-Pakistani border, was reported to have been killed during fighting in the Bajaur tribal agency, while Tahir Yuldashev was reported to have been wounded during an airstrike in South Waziristan.
US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal the reports that Yuldashev was wounded are credible, but would not comment on the reports that Rahman was killed.
Rahman was reported killed as Pakistani security forces battled the Taliban in the Charmang region in Bajaur, according to the South Asian News Agency. Geo News reported that a "foreign commander" was among four "militants" killed during fighting in the region, but did not identify Rahman as the commander.
Qari Zia Rahman is an al Qaeda leader who operates in Pakistan’s Bajaur tribal agency as well as in Afghanistan’s Nuristan and Kunar provinces. He is allied with Faqir Mohammed, the leader of the Taliban in Bajaur, as well as overall Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud and Osama bin Laden. Rahman's fighters are from Chechnya, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and various Arab nations. He commands a brigade in al Qaeda's paramilitary Shadow Army, or the Lashkar al Zil, US intelligence officials have told The Long War Journal. ....
Last edited by Merlin; 17 Jun 09, at 09:02.
There seems to be a worrying development in the PA. Media has been reporting that there have been quite a large number of desertions in the army. The soldiers it seems are refusing to fight with their own compatriots.
Here is the news item.
Mutiny in 3 Pak infantry brigades?: India Today - Latest Breaking News from India, World, Business, Cricket, Sports, Bollywood.
With reports of mass desertion, the Pakistan Army-battling the Taliban in the North West Frontier Province-appeared to be in deep trouble.
The tri-services intelligence recently made a presentation to the military top brass, putting the number of soldiers deserting the forces to be more than 900. Headlines Today possessed these exclusive intelligence inputs.
According to the inputs, cases of fratricide-soldiers killing soldiers-have shot up in some formations of the Pakistan Army.
The mutiny has been reported in three infantry brigades-Parachinar, Kohat and Turbat-with at least six recent fratricide cases in the army formations.
It forced the army to seek the psychiatrists' assistance to help the troops. The report said cases of mutiny within the Pakistan Army were on a sharp rise since 2007.
Awwww crap , when i said that i didnt mean it like that)
TANKIE. ECO WARRIOR , SAVE THE TREES
The air attack on the Waziristan stronghold has begun.
Jets and choppers fly sorties over Waziristan
18 June [DailyTimes] RAWALPINDI: Army surveillance planes flew over suspected Taliban strongholds in Waziristan Agency, where a major operation is planned, and helicopter gunships hit several targets in advance strikes on Wednesday, officials said.
Three security and intelligence officials, asking not to be named, told AP that planes flew over parts of the area taking videos. Helicopter gunships and artillery were also used to hit suspected Taliban hideouts, they said.
Also on Wednesday, security forces said that 22 Taliban were killed and another 17 arrested, while one soldier was injured in the military operation in Malakand in the last 24 hours.
“The security forces carried out a search operation in the Galgut area (Dir) and killed 20 terrorists and 15 were apprehended,” the Inter-Services Public Relations said, adding that forces recovered a cache of arms and ammunition. ...
A good analysis of Pakistan's fight against the Talibans by C S Monitor.
Pakistan faces limits as it widens war on Taliban
18 June [CSMonitor] New Delhi - The Pakistani military is preparing to open a new front in its fight against the Taliban, this time targeting South Waziristan, a tribal region and home base for Taliban factions fighting the Pakistani state.
In recent days, it has launched softening-up operations, including air raids and shelling.
The military has the momentum of battlefield gains and popular support after pushing back one Taliban faction in northwestern Swat Valley and nearby areas.
But South Waziristan is no Swat. The tougher terrain, more entrenched foe, and stretched forces lead experts to suspect that this operation will adopt modest aims, not a fight to the finish between Pakistan and the wider Taliban movement. ....
"Taliban" has become an umbrella term for numerous armed factions within both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Some of the Taliban within Pakistan have merely used the country as a base for attacks into Afghanistan.
A few Taliban leaders, including Maulana Fazlullah in Swat and Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan, have launched attacks within Pakistan – apparently triggering this military crackdown. Mr. Mehsud is a prime target for this operation, with Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani saying this week that he "must be eliminated." ...
THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!!!! I completely and totally support the Pakistanti forces that are defeating the Taliban. It may stop attacks into Afghanistan, thus lowering NATO casualties.
At the exact same time though, we need to be worried about the civilians because if they feel that their government isn't doing enough they may very well decide to side with the muj. If that happens Pakistan will most likely become a safe-haven for terrorists and NATO forces will be there that much longer.
Pakistani forces are not taking on the Taliban. They are taking on Mehsud's boys, and only since he refused to dance on Islamabad's tune. I'll believe that Pakistan is seriously taking on the Taliban when they go after the other Taliban leaders such as Bahadur, Nazir or Haqqani. They won't go after them since they happen to be in bed with the ISI and dance to Pakistan's tune.
Nabha Sparasham Deeptam
-Touch The Sky With Glory
The militants are coming in fast, to set up refugee camps to help these displaced civilians. Winning hearts and minds is an important part of this war.
Pakistan's offensive opens new forum for militants: refugee camps
Religious charities with extremist ties or sympathies are winning favor among displaced people for their speedy aid work.
19 June [CSMonitor] Mardan, Pakistan - Clearing out Islamic hard-liners is tough enough on the battlefield. Yet even as Pakistan's Army wraps up operations to clear the Taliban from Swat Valley, religious groups with militant ties or sympathies have set up shop among the war's refugees – and are winning popular support with their truckloads of aid.
Among the organizations providing relief is the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), the charity wing of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the banned militant group blamed for last November's Mumbai (Bombay) attacks.
The militants' focus on aid efforts has raised concerns among some analysts that such groups may find recruits or sympathizers among the 2 million people displaced by the military's offensive – the majority of whom live outside government-run camps. ...
Last edited by Merlin; 20 Jun 09, at 07:44.
This article below suggests that this is a deliberate strategy.
Pak's new strategy: Target Mehsud only
20 June [TimesIndia]PESHAWAR: Call it a war strategy or a ploy to divide the Taliban conglomerate, Pakistan seems to be focusing only on outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban's leader Baitullah Mehsud — at least five other prominent militant groups don't figure in government's hitlist.
Post-9 /11, Waziristan, where Pakistani forces have luanched an operation called Rah-e-Nijat (the path of salvation ), has served as a safe haven for al-Qaida and Taliban militants fleeing relentless bombardment of US-led forces in Afghanistan.
Besides Mehsud, the other militant groups are led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulvi Nazir. Recently , two other groups, led by Qari Zainuddin and Turkistan Bhittani, have emerged in the region. These groups run their separate training camps.
Excluding Mehsud, all other groups are said to be pro-Pakistan and are fighting in Afghanistan. The current operation, analysts say, can be successful if it targets all other militant groups as well.
In February, Taliban groups formed a United Council of Mujahedeen under the leadership of Mehsud. Sirajuddin Haqqani, the most wanted person in Afghanistan, was the architect of this alliance.
In an attempt to drive a wedge among the groups, the government tried to isolate Mehsud before launching the operation in Waziristan. So far, two Taliban commanders, Qari Mehsud and Turkistan Bhittani, have taken clear positions against Mehsud and announced to fight against him.
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