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Reply With QuoteNah, but you're welcome to be on my side.Originally Posted by axeman
You need help.
I will post something here that I have posted in another forum:
An advice to the Pakistani Establishment:
Go ahead and build that fence that you so desperately seem to want, and then gun down (or more politely engage by deployment of munitions) every militant (freedom fighter? mujaheedin? good taliban? bad taliban?) that you see trying to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" ~ Epicurus
Nah, but you're welcome to be on my side.You need help.
"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it, and if one finds the prospect of a long war intolerable, it is natural to disbelieve in the possibility of victory."
- George Orwell
Well, that's something everybody but a Democrat can get behind!
"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it, and if one finds the prospect of a long war intolerable, it is natural to disbelieve in the possibility of victory."
- George Orwell
Nazir and Bahadur were fence sitters until the drone attacks took heavy toll on their men. Recently Bahadur attacked a PA convoy and killed around 40 of them.
Interestingly PA did not respond for this attack.Moreover there were deliberate reports that Nazir has decided not to attack PA.
The drone attacks needs to be concentrated on "PA friendly" groups AND spread the word that PA is involved in it.
Then US and the world wont have to plead PA to take action.The Taliban will start hitting PA as it is happening with Bahadur now.Note when Bahadur goes Nazir will follow.
As far as Mehsud is concerned,the action against him will continue UNTIL he starts obeying PA. Mehsud was put in place by the ISI itself.
He has enough contacts in PA.Recently a politician was arrested carrying a letter from Mehsud to none other than the former ISI chief,Hamid Gul!
You can't Run with the Hare and Hunt with the Hounds.
On one hand PA is demanding Money and equipment from the Americans to fight Mehsud and his merry band, and on the other hand they are scertly rooting for the Taliban in Afganistan.
Some good news from Swat Valley.
Pakistan Arrests Pro-Taliban Clerics, Kills Commander in Swat
July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan’s army killed a militant commander and arrested pro-Taliban clerics in the Swat Valley including Sufi Muhammad, who brokered February’s peace accord in the region.
The militant leader was killed during operations in the Tal, Kamari Banda and Maira Banda, the Pakistani military said in a statement. An imam was also detained near Fatehpur, it said, without giving any details.
Sufi Muhammad, who was arrested yesterday near Peshawar, failed to uphold pledges to maintain peace and didn’t “utter a single word against terrorism,” the Dawn newspaper cited Mian Iftikhar, information minister of North West Frontier Province, as saying. That stance “encouraged terrorism,” he said.
Pakistan’s army began an offensive in Swat in April after Taliban forces took over towns and villages, violating the February accord that allowed the introduction of Islamic law in the northwestern region. The army regained control of Swat this month after a 10-week offensive.
As many as 1,600 militants were killed during the fighting that forced more than 2 million people to flee their homes. At least 400,000 displaced people have now returned after the government restored power and water services in the region.
Sufi Muhammad was “preparing to get more people killed,” Dawn cited Iftikhar as saying. “The price we have paid for the sake of peace, we cannot allow any person to disturb the peace,” he said. .....
As I had predicted in my post earlier, Mehsud is already buddy buddy with PA now.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
LAHORE: The military has delayed a full-scale ground operation in South Waziristan Agency against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud as the two sides have covertly reached an understanding, the Telegraph claimed on Tuesday. A report in the UK daily said details are still not known, but the military had deliberately delayed launching the attacks against Baitullah after “having corralled his stronghold in South Waziristan”. Around six brigades of troops have blocked the four main arteries into Baitullah’s territory, which thousands have fled for fear of missile strikes by US drones. Citing a senior official, the paper reported that authorities want Baitullah to announce that he would not attack the government in the future. The official said it would not be a “total surrender”, but a guarantee on Baitullah’s part that he would not indulge in anti-state activities in the future.
The effort was underway because the military is engaged on several fronts and does not want a full-blown operation in Waziristan. The claims have not been verified independently, the Telegraph reported, but said the delay was sure to anger the United States. The military has denied such reports and said it wanted to surround the Taliban and then use air power and artillery to “soften them up”. The army has struck several peace deals with Baitullah in the past, but all have collapsed. daily times monitor
PA claims that this is to ensure that they have the proper strategy and support in place before they make the final push. So apparently this is a good thing now?
South Waziristan operation delayed | Pakistan | News | Newspaper | Daily | English | Online
Exceprt:
I am not sure who to believe at this point. Maybe some of the pros can shed more light on this "strategy"Pakistani officials insist that they are focused on the refugees and that they do not want to rush into opening new fronts against the Taliban. Pakistan has already launched two operations into South Waziristan in recent years that failed to dislodge the Taliban.
“We would not like to do anything haphazardly. If you open so many fronts at the same time, then the danger is you will not achieve success on any front. So we would like to move with utmost circumspection,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit. The tribal areas are “a different ballgame and we need to understand how difficult it is.” Al-Qaeda, meanwhile, has increased its focus on uniting the Taliban and other groups in the fight against Pakistan, betting its success on the survival of the Taliban, according to intelligence officials.
The initial stages of the South Waziristan operation have begun. Pakistani aircraft, along with unmanned American planes, have attacked Mehsud’s territory in recent weeks. Soldiers have deployed into neighbouring North Waziristan and have imposed an economic blockade, trying to withhold food and supplies from the Taliban, said a US defence official in Washington.
The official said Pakistan likely wants “to make sure they have everything working in their favour before they actually pull the trigger on a ground assault.” “It’s the hardest nut to crack,” the official said. “There’s no doubt about that.”
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" ~ Epicurus
TANKIE.
The threat of Talibans is still there. But this is a sign of normalcy returning to Swat.
Schools open in Pakistan's Swat despite Taliban fear
MINGORA, Pakistan, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Pakistan re-opened schools over the weekend in the Swat valley where troops have been fighting Taliban guerrillas for over three months.
While hundreds of thousands of people who fled Swat to escape the fighting have now returned home, getting back to normal life will take longer in a region still under military curfew.
But the sight of children going to school lifted morale. ....
Girls' schools, in particular, had been one of the Taliban's main targets during a campaign to enforce their own severe interpretation of Islamic law in the region hitherto known for its alpine beauty and passive people.
Where school buildings were either destroyed or badly damaged, classes were conducted under a canopy to provide shade from the fierce summer sun.
Most of the Taliban may have been either killed or driven out of the valley by the army's offensive, but their threat still haunts the people. ....
A decapitated policeman's body dumped early last week on the outskirts of Mingora, Swat's main town, was just one deadly reminder that the Taliban haven't gone away entirely.
Last month, the government opened up Swat and neighbouring districts for more than two million displaced people after the military said 90 percent of the region had been cleared. ....
This is a recent Pew Global opinion poll of Pakistan.
But this poll is not able to breakdown further into the opinions of those in the city areas, and those in the N W Frontier Region.
Pakistani Public Opinion:
Growing Concerns about Extremism, Continuing Discontent with U.S.
13 Aug [PewGlobal] Pakistanis see their country in crisis. They give their national government lower ratings than at any time in this decade, and almost no one is satisfied with national conditions. Crime and terrorism are seen as major problems by virtually everyone. And huge percentages of Pakistanis also see their country struggling mightily with corruption and a deteriorating economy.
A long-standing concern about Islamic extremism has grown even greater over the past year. No fewer than 69% of the Pakistanis questioned worry that extremists could take control of the country. At the same time, indifference and mixed opinions about both al Qaeda and the Taliban have given way to a strong condemnation of both groups. In 2008, just 33% held a negative view of the Taliban; today, 70% rate it unfavorably. Similarly, the percentage of Pakistanis with an unfavorable opinion of al Qaeda has jumped from 34% to 61% in the last year. ....
Last edited by Merlin; 14 Aug 09, at 16:01.
I'll put this article on Pakistan Talibans here instead of the thread on 'Betullah Mehsud'. Power struggle for leadership is still going on among the Talibans group. Thus this below is just a temporary measure.
Pakistani Taliban's deputy head takes over group
36 min ago [AP] PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The deputy head of the Pakistani Taliban announced that he is temporarily assuming leadership of the militant group because its chief is ill, although Washington and Islamabad have said he almost certainly was killed by a recent missile strike.
The announcement Wednesday by Maulvi Faqir Mohammad was another sign that Taliban commanders are jockeying for power after the reported death of Baitullah Mehsud in an Aug. 5 CIA missile strike in northwestern Pakistan's tribal belt. A captured Taliban spokesman reportedly acknowledged to authorities that Mehsud was dead, but other commanders have insisted he is alive. ....
He stressed his appointment was only temporary, and said the final decision on who would replace Mehsud would rest with a 42-member Taliban council, known as a shura. ....
Two of the top contenders are considered to be leading commanders Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman, and Mohammad described them as "both capable and energetic leaders."
Pakistan's Taliban is more a loose alliance of disparate groups and tribal factions rather than one cohesive group, and government and intelligence officials have been saying that they are now embroiled in a bitter leadership struggle. ....
He also said the recently arrested Taliban spokesman, Maulvi Umar, was being replaced by Muslim Khan, who was until now the militants' spokesman for the Swat Valley region in northern Pakistan. ...
The Pakistan Talibans has appointed a new leader, in his late twenties.
Hakimullah appointed new TTP chief: TV
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Hakimullah Mehsud has been declared to be the successor of the banned group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud, local TV channel reported Saturday.
The private channel GEO News quoted the TTP mouthpiece Maulvi Faqir as saying that Baitullah Mehsud is alive and wants to appoint an amir in his lifespan.
Maulvi Faqir said 42-strong council of Taliban appointed Hakimullah their chief and Azam Tariq as the new spokesman of the militant outfit.
There was report earlier that Maulvi Faqir, one of Mehsud's deputies and spokesman, said the TTP held a shura (council) meeting and named him as their leader.
Faqir said that other Taliban senior leaders Maulvi Nazir and HafizGul Bahadar are also happy over the appointment of new TTP chief.
Hakimullah Mehsud, in his late twenties, had been one of the strong candidates for TTP leadership. He has served as spokesman for Baitullah Mehsud and in-charge of TTP at Orakzai and Khyber tribal agencies. He is the cousin of Qari Hussain, the cold-blooded commander who is the trainer and sponsor of suicide bombers across the country. He had been known as a mobile Taliban commander amongst the militants.
Hakimullah also has good contacts with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a fanatic Sunni outfit with anti-Shia ambitions. He has good contacts in Punjab and Sindh provinces and has trained a large number of Punjabi Taliban militants in South Waziristan tribal agency.
Hakimullah uses these Punjabi Taliban militants whenever he needs to carry out a suicide attack in settled areas. He belongs to Kotkey village in Ludha area inside South Waziristan. .....
This is full of intrigue. But as nothing can be verified, so who do you believe?
Hakimullah and Betullah, are they really alive?
Hakimullah's 'look alike brother' new Taliban chief: report
23 Aug [IndianExpress] Pakistani Taliban has appointed a "look alike brother" of Hakimullah Mehsud as its new chief in order to give the impression that its leadership was safe, according to intelligence officials who believe that the militant commander was killed in a duel with a rival claimant.
Taliban commander Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, who just days back had appointed himself as the successor to Tehrik-e- Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud, yesterday said a 42-member 'shura' or supreme council selected Hakimullah Mehsud as the new leader during a meeting held in South Waziristan tribal region.
However, the intelligence officials believe that the new Taliban chief is Hakimullah's brother, who was specially called from Afghanistan to head the militant group in order to save its image and give the impression that Hakimullah is still alive. ...
Last edited by Merlin; 23 Aug 09, at 09:47.
This analysis may have some truth. But it can be wishful thinking.
Is Pakistan's Taliban movement on the way out?
24 Aug [MiamiHerald] ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's extremist Taliban movement is badly divided over who should be its new leader, and analysts and local tribesmen say the al-Qaida-linked group may be in danger of crumbling.
A wave of defections, surrenders, arrests and bloody infighting has severely weakened the movement since its founder, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed Aug. 5 in a U.S. missile strike. The announcement this weekend that Hakimullah Mehsud, a 28-year-old with a reputation as a hothead, would succeed him is likely to further widen the split.
Hakimullah has support from Taliban groups in Orakzai, where he is based, and Bajaur, both parts of the wild Pakistan tribal zone that borders Afghanistan. But the heart of the Pakistani Taliban movement lies in the Waziristan portion of the tribal area, where the warlike Mehsud and Wazir clans live and where a commander named Waliur Rehman is backed as the next chief. Rehman was very close to Baitullah Mehsud. ...
Pakistan authorities arrested the Taliban's high-profile spokesman, Maulvi Umer, in the tribal areas, while a key interlocutor between the Taliban and al-Qaida, commander Saifullah, was also detained at a house in Islamabad where he was receiving medical treatment.
Separately, 60 Taliban fighters gave themselves up in the Swat valley in Pakistan's northwest. Many Taliban in Waziristan have defected since Baitullah Mehsud's death.
In a further sign of internal discord, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed Sunday that militants had killed Baitullah Mehsud's in-laws, including his father-in-law, on suspicion of giving away his location. The former Taliban leader had been staying at his father-in-law's house in Waziristan when he was killed by a missile fired from a U.S. drone. ....
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