Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Pakistan steels for army assault on Waziristan
15 Jun 2009 11:53:00 GMT
 Source: Reuters
An internally displaced girl, who fled a military offensive in the Swat valley region, looks through a tear in the food distribution tent at the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) Jalozai camp, about 140 km (87 miles) north west of Pakistan's capital Islamabad June 14, 2009. <br> REUTERS/Ali Imam
Previous | Next
An internally displaced girl, who fled a military offensive in the Swat valley region, looks through a tear in the food distribution tent at the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) Jalozai camp, about 140 km (87 miles) north west of Pakistan's capital Islamabad June 14, 2009.
REUTERS/Ali Imam

Background

•  Pakistan violence

MORE >>
(For full coverage on Pakistan, click on [ID:nSP102615])

* Military prepares assault on Taliban leader's stronghold

* Security tightened in capital in case of reprisals

* Terrain and presence of civilians poses problems

By Kamran Haider

ISLAMABAD, June 15 (Reuters) - Pakistan braced for militant reprisals on Monday as the army conducted softening-up operations ahead of an assault on the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, one of al Qaeda's main allies.

Military experts see the showdown in remote South Waziristan as a possible Waterloo for al Qaeda and its allies as the government has demonstrated a fighting spirit hitherto lacking in Pakistan.

"We continue to fight until the last Taliban, militant, enemy of Pakistan is flushed out of Pakistan," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told police in Islamabad on Monday.

Extra police roadblocks caused unusually long traffic tailbacks in the capital on Monday morning as Rehman feared more bomb attacks like those that killed eight people in Dera Ismail Khan on Sunday and nine in a Peshawar hotel last week.

U.S. officials say they believe the Pakistan army has started a big push into Mehsud's mountainous redoubt, and on Sunday Awais Ahmed Ghani, governor of North West Frontier Province, confirmed an operation had been ordered.

The United States heaved a sigh of relief when the army went on the offensive in late April to clear the Swat valley and neighbouring districts northwest of the capital, Islamabad.

The start of a campaign against Mehsud will doubly reassure Western allies, who fear the nuclear-armed Muslim state could plunge into chaos unless the Taliban's creeping advances are stopped.

Waziristan has long been regarded as a militant sanctuary, and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden passed through the area before disappearing after fleeing Afghanistan in late 2001.

Military and intelligence officials told Reuters the main operation has not yet started, though a countdown has begun.

There have been a series of actions in recent days, including the bombing of a Mehsud village on Saturday, and an army assault on militant tribesmen in the nearby Bannu district, while two forts in Waziristan came under heavy attack from Mehsud fighters.

A Reuters journalist saw military columns moving towards the Mehsud lands, and families fleeing the area.

"There are hardly any civilian families left there, just Taliban and their families," said Abdul Rahim Mehsud, a villager who had abandoned his home to stay with relatives in Tank, the last town on the road into South Waziristan.

FEW PLACES LEFT TO RUN

The Pakistan army, for all its firepower, faces a difficult campaign given the terrain, the presence of women and children, and the desperation of their foes.

"It's going to be a tough battle initially because this is going to be their final battle," retired brigadier Asad Munir, a former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer, told Reuters.

"It is for their survival so all of them are going to join together, the jihadis, sectarian groups, foreigners, al-Qaeda.

"If they take over South Waziristan there'll be no place for al Qaeda leaders to hide."

Missile attacks by U.S. drone aircraft have largely targeted North and South Waziristan, the two most militant prone of Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal lands bordering Afghanistan.

CIA Director Leon Panetta said last week he believed bin Laden was still in Pakistan, but U.S. officials have told journalists that some al Qaeda fighters have begun moving to Yemen and Somalia as Pakistan had become too risky.

While the main focus remains Swat and Waziristan, the military has also been hitting militant positions across the northwest, with airstrikes and helicopter gunship raids in Bajaur and Mohmand on Sunday, and in Orakzai last week.

The Swat operation is in its last stages, but over 2 million people have fled the combat zone since fighting broke out in late April, and the prospect of more abandoning their homes in Waziristan will add to worries over a humanitarian crisis.

The United States and United Nations are leading efforts to raise funds to help Pakistan cope.

The insecurity weighed on sentiment in the share market and the main index lost 1.51 percent <.KSE> on Monday, as investors found little solace in an annual budget that underlined a dependence on financial aid from friendly governments worried about Pakistan's future.

(Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)




AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

Emergencies

•  Pakistan violence

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Lack of funds and insecurity hitting Pakistan aid efforts
Caritas Internationalis

•  Children at risk in disasters still being ignored, says report
Plan UK

•  Pakistan aid effort in jeopardy with massive funding shortfall
World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe/ Central Asia

•  Peshawar Bombing Must Not Detract from Severe Aid Shortages
Refugees International - USA

•  As flu pandemic declared, leaders must focus on poor countries to avert
World Vision - USA

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Qatar orders jets, U.S. axes F-22 display

•  FACTBOX-What is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?

•  Abbas aide urges world shun Netanyahu over speech

•  Iran's Khatami supports peaceful protest

•  Taliban attack musicians at Afghan wedding

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by

Background information

Briefings
Pakistan violence - [Who works where]

Facts & figures
Afghanistan Pakistan United States of America
Statistics graphs
Refugees residing here (2007)
Chart for Refugees residing here
View more stats

Related articles

Breaking stories
 Qatar orders jets, U.S. axes F-22 display (1 minute ago)

FACTBOX-What is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation? (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 Protection of war-displaced Pakistanis at risk - aid agencies (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 Lack of funds and insecurity hitting Pakistan aid efforts (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 $130m for Ronaldo? That's a lot of school meals (1 minute ago)

Maps
 MAP: Pakistan, transport overview- NWFP ( 07 JUNE 2009) (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-06-15T104717Z_01_AAL110_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN-VIOLENCE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL110.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-06-15T103859Z_01_AAL109_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN-VIOLENCE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL109.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-06-15T103550Z_01_AAL108_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN-VIOLENCE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL108.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-06-15T102616Z_01_AAL107_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN-VIOLENCE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL107.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-06-15T085841Z_01_KAB03_RTRIDSP_2_AFGHANISTAN-COMMANDER_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/KAB03.htm

An internally displaced girl, who fled a military offensive in the Swat valley region, looks past a partition outside her family tent at the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon Jun 15 12:55:13 2009