Bloody Taliban reprisals won't halt Army's Waziristan offensive: GilaniOctober 24th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has vowed that the military offensive in South Waziristan would continue until its logical conclusion despite the Taliban's continuous effort to create havoc across the country and derail the civilian government. Speaking at a high level meeting on national security at the Prime Minister's House, Gilani said stern action would be taken against all those who challenge the writ of the state and stressed that failure in the ongoing Waziristan military operation was not an option.
South Waziristan locals doubt Pak Army's motives in 'mother of all battles'October 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Pakistan Army may have pledged that it is going to root out the Taliban from its den in South Waziristan through the operation named 'Raah-e-Nijaat', but local residents are far from convinced that the government is really determined to wipe out the extremists, that it once nurtured. Despite repeated claims from the Pakistan Army that it is going to crush the extremists once for all in what has been termed as the 'mother of all battles', people see little change in the military's tactics.
Pak Army still needs old Taliban `strategic assets' to counter India in Afghan backyardOctober 19th, 2009 LONDON - The Pakistan military believes the Americans and the British will withdraw from Afghanistan - and when they do, they will need old Taliban friends such as Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin to minimize the influence of India in its Afghan backyard. Several key Taliban figures are protected by the Pakistan Army, which still regards them as "strategic assets".
Pak Army's 'mother of all battles' might turn futile as Taliban slip away: LocalsOctober 18th, 2009 LONDON - Though Pakistan has announced an all out offensive, a'mother of all battles', against the Taliban in South Waziristan, local residents see the offensive as futile as they believe many Taliban have slipped away into other neighboring areas. There were reports of Taliban compounds being bombed by helicopter gunships as troops moved out in three columns from Razmak to the north, Jandola to the east and Shakai in the west.But people in the region believe the operation has come a bit late.
'GHQ attack result of Pak Army's failure to launch offensive in South Waziristan'October 11th, 2009 NEW YORK - A former top Pakistani police official has said Saturday's ghastly terror strike on the Army General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was a result of the failure of the security forces to counter the extremists in South Waziristan effectively. Arbab Hidayatullah, an expert of national security, said the GHQ attack had occurred because the Pakistan military had given a free hand to the extremists.
Pak Army's plans to use private militia against Taliban may backfire: ReportSeptember 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Pakistan Army's initiative to sponsor local militias, or the lashkars, as they are commonly known, may have been working in its favour against the Taliban, however some people feel such move could back fire in future. Backed by the Army, which had initiated an all out operation against the Taliban in Swat and Malakand Divisions in April, more than 8,000 villagers living across the region have joined these militias to try to keep the Taliban away from their villages.
Army's success in Swat upsetting Pakistan's 'fragile' internal balance of powerJuly 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - While the Pakistan government has been raising concerns over the expanding Taliban threat, it was the Army which ultimately took the challenge and succeeded in crushing the insurgents to an extent. The success of the military in the Swat offensive is upsetting Pakistan's 'fragile' internal balance of power.
Pak Army's tactics of relying on airstrikes against Mehsud may be ineffective: ReportJuly 12th, 2009 LAHORE - The Pakistan Army might have been planning an all out offensive against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud in his stronghold, South Waziristan, but according to a report in an US daily, this planned operation won't yield the desired results and is unlikely to be effective in eliminating the Taliban leadership. Failure to gain substantial ground against the Taliban and nab the warlord would certainly disappoint the country's western allies, a report in the US-based McClatchy newspaper said.
Pak Army's 'close links' with Taliban laid bare by CNN reportJuly 11th, 2009 LAHORE - The Pakistan Army was caught unaware on Friday when a media report claimed that it has declared that it could contact the Taliban to broker a ceasefire between the US and the banned extremist outfit. Quoting the ISPR spokesperson Major General Athar Abbas from an 'exclusive interview', the CNN reported that the Pakistan Army is in contact with the Taliban chief Mullah Omar and can bring the warlord and his commanders to the discussion table with the US.
'Pak army's desire to kill Indians, spare Pakistanis makes them ineffective against Taliban'July 1st, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan Army's desire to kill Indians and spare Pakistanis is making them ineffective against the Pak-Taliban, senior political scientist Christine Fair has said. The Daily Times quoted Fair of the RAND Corporation, as saying that several Pakistani officers had told her they had joined the army to kill Indians, not Pakistanis.
US concerned over Pak Army's double speak on terror: GatesMay 19th, 2009 LAHORE - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said the Pakistan Army is capable of neutralising the Taliban, but is maintaining contacts with the terror outfit as they are not sure who is going to win in Afghanistan. He said it was up to Pakistan to clear the Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists out.
Obama says Pak Army's focus is shifting from India to TalibanMay 18th, 2009 LAHORE - US President Barrack Obama has expressed satisfaction over the Pakistan Army's recognition of the Taliban being a more serious threat than India in recent weeks. "One of the encouraging things is, over the last several weeks we've seen a decided shift in the Pakistan Army's recognition that the threat from extremism is a much more immediate and serious one than the threat from India that they've traditionally focused on," the Newsweek quoted him, as saying.
Questions raised over Pak Army's ability to defeat TalibanMay 10th, 2009 TORONTO - The Pakistan army had vowed to quell the insurgency completely. Questions are being raised about whether the Pakistan Army is up to the task of defeating the Taliban in the Swat Valley, after it announced all out war against insurgents.
Skepticism over Pak govt., army's willingness, capability to fight TalibanMay 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan, while announcing an all out war against the Taliban in the Swat Valley, vowed to root out extremism completely from its soil, but questions are being raised over its willingness and ability to thwart the menace. According to a Washington Post report, there is wide scale skepticism about the government's motives and the army's will to fight against the extremists.
Taliban's 'safe havens' in Pak's heart a "doomsday scenario for India, Afghanistan and WestApril 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The so called 'peace deal' between the government of Pakistan and the Taliban in the Swat Valley has brought Washington and Islamabad at loggerheads, with the United States considering that the accord would only provide an opportunity to the insurgents to build terror safe havens in Pakistan's heart. US diplomats see the peace accord of the Swat Valley, which is located just 60 miles away from Islamabad, as a threat to the region, and to the western world too.
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