(For more stories on the conflict in Pakistan and Afghanistan click on [ID:nSP102615] By Robert Birsel ISLAMABAD, June 12 (Reuters) - Pakistani forces have stepped up attacks on militants across the northwest after making progress in more than a month of fighting against Taliban in the Swat valley. The militants have responded with a series of bomb attacks and on Friday a prominent anti-Taliban was killed in a suicide bomb attack in the city of Lahore. [ID:nSP387298] Rising Islamist violence has raised fears for Pakistan's stability and for the safety of its nuclear arsenal but the offensive in Swat has reassured the United States about its commitment to the global campaign against militancy. WHY IS FIGHTING FLARING IN OTHER PLACES? Heavy fighting has flared this week near Bannu, a town in North West Frontier Province adjacent to the North Waziristan militant stronghold on the Afghan border. The army has also attacked militants in the Bajaur and Mohmand ethnic Pashtun tribal regions, also on the Afghan border, to the north of the city of Peshawar, as well as in the South Waziristan and Orakzai tribal regions, to the southwest of Peshawar. Analysts say this is part of a plan to keep militants tied down and pre-occupied so they can't travel to Swat to help their allies and also to disrupt their bombing campaign in retaliation for Swat. WHAT NEXT? Insurgent violence has accelerated sharply in neighbouring Afghanistan as U.S. reinforcements have been arriving. The United States will want to see quick Pakistani follow-up to the Swat offensive, with action against militant strongholds on the Afghan border. Analyst say the most likely target will be South Waziristan. The fighting near Bannu this week is also aimed at "softening up" the militants before the expected army push into South Waziristan. President Asif Ali Zardari recently told a British newspaper that South Waziristan would be next. Although his aides said he was quoted out of context, military officials have said a South Waziristan offensive was possible. WHY IS WAZIRISTAN IMPORTANT? Both North and South Waziristan have for years been militant bastions, especially after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan when many al Qaeda and Taliban members took refuge there. Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden passed through Waziristan after fleeing Afghanistan in late 2001 before his trail went cold. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta said he believed bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan and he hoped joint operations with Pakistani forces would find him. But for Pakistan, the main reason for the expected push into South Waziristan is that the rugged region is the home base of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. Mehsud's notoriety soared after he was accused of the assassination of Zardari's wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, in December, 2007. He has been accused of many subsequent militant attacks. Beginning in 2004, Pakistani forces have made several inconclusive attempts to defeat, or at least disrupt, militants in South Waziristan. Analysts say the expected offensive is only likely to come after Swat is deemed secure, which could take weeks, and it would likely be coordinated with U.S. military action on the Afghan side of the border. WHAT RISKS FOR THE GOVERNMENT? The offensive in Swat has broad public support but a surge in Taliban bomb attacks could undermine that backing for the democratically elected civilian government. For now, the bombs appear to be hardening opinion against the militants. The fighting in Swat and elsewhere in the northwest has displaced about 2.5 million people and public anger will grow if they are seen to be languishing in misery. An offensive in Waziristan would spark another civilian exodus putting a greater burden on cash-strapped relief efforts. Also, the Waziristan tribes are hostile to outside interference and don't like the army being in their lands. An offensive could intensify resentment in the region, or even trigger an uprising. (Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
An internally displaced girl, who fled a military offensive in the Swat valley region, looks through a fence while standing near her family tent at the UNHCR ( United Nations High ...
