Ground offensive begins in Waziristan

Salman Masood, Foreign Correspondent

• Last Updated: October 18. 2009 1:58AM UAE / October 17. 2009 9:58PM GMT

Pakistan Army troops prepare to leave for patrolling during a curfew in Bannu, a town on the edge of Waziristan. Ijaz Muhammad / AP Photo

ISLAMABAD // The Pakistan army began a major ground offensive yesterday into the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan, the north-western tribal region, according to army and intelligence officials, after more than 10 days of co-ordinated attacks by the militants that targeted several military and government installations and jolted the country.

The army spokesman, Maj Gen Athar Abbas, confirmed yesterday evening that a full-fledged ground operation was under way and said that it aimed to “uproot” the Pakistani Taliban. He said it was too early to discuss what sort of resistance the army was meeting.

Maj Gen Abbas added that the operation should be completed in six to eight weeks.

Intelligence officials confirmed that more than 30,000 troops aided by tanks, artillery and air force F-16 jets had started moving in the region from three directions and targeted militant positions in South Waziristan early yesterday.

At least 11 suspected insurgents were killed in the jet bombings, while a bomb hit a security convoy near Jandola in South Waziristan, killing one soldier and wounding three others, two local intelligence officials said.

A military statement yesterday evening said four soldiers were killed and 12 wounded in exchanges of fire elsewhere in the region.

In preparation for the offensive, a curfew was imposed in the region and mobile phone services in bordering areas were reported to have been jammed. At least 8,000 people were reported to have fled South Waziristan and taken refuge in the neighbouring areas of Dera Ismail Khan and Tank.

The decision to move ground troops into South Waziristan, which straddles the border with Afghanistan, was given a final go-ahead by the country’s political leadership after a four-hour meeting on Friday at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad.

Political leaders of the ruling and opposition parties were given a briefing by Gen Pervez Ashfaq Kayani, the army chief, and Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the head of Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, the powerful intelligence organisation.

Dawn, the country’s most prestigious daily, reported that Gen Kayani told the briefing that “the situation had become so dangerous because of terrorist activities being planned in South Waziristan that a military operation had become unavoidable”.

The rugged, mountainous terrain of South Waziristan has been reported to be a safe haven of Taliban and al Qa’eda for a long time.

Pakistani officials claim that almost all of the major terrorist attacks that have struck the country in the past few years were planned and financed by the Taliban leadership based there.

Hakeemullah Mehsud, the new leader of the Pakistani Taliban, is said to be behind a deadly series of terrorist attacks over the past two weeks. The attacks targeted the general headquarters of the Pakistan army in Rawalpindi, the office of an agency of the United Nations in Islamabad and, more recently, two police training centres and a regional headquarter of the Federal Investigation Agency in Lahore.

On Friday, a suicide attack targeted the office of an investigation unit of the police in Peshawar, the provincial capital of North West Frontier Province. More than 175 people have been killed in the current wave of violence.

The brazen, synchronised attacks have shaken the country and exhortations to launch an operation in South Waziristan grew louder with every terrorist act.

It was not clear what led to the delay in launching the military operation especially since operational preparations were being made as early as July.

Army troops have maintained a blockade of South Waziristan for the past three months. Pakistan air force jets have pounded militant hideouts, training centres and ammunition depots for months, softening targets for the final assault by the ground troops.

But the battle in South Waziristan is expected to be a tough one and military officials are bracing for heavy casualties.

The Pakistan army is expecting stiff resistance from at least 10,000 militants – mostly from fighters belonging to the Mehsud tribe – and about 1,500 foreign fighters, mostly from Central Asia, according to a military official.

“There are Arabs, but the Arabs are basically in the leadership, providing resources and expertise and in the role of trainers,” Gen Abbas said.

At a classified briefing Friday in Rawalpindi for editors of the country’s leading newspapers, army officials expressed optimism and resolve to take on the militants in South Waziristan, according to several people who attended the briefing.

“The tone of the briefing was firm and optimistic,” one said.

Pakistan army officials, however, did warn of a “wave of terrorist attacks to continue targeting the urban centres of the country”, another journalist who attended the briefing said.

Army officials seem to be buoyed by the success of the campaign against militants in the picturesque Swat valley, which was the scene of a military operation this year.

“Swat operation seems to have given the military a lot of confidence,” the participant said.

The army officials claim that they have enough resources and manpower to choke militants hiding in the rugged tribal region, according to the account of the briefing.

Army officials say they hold key strategic heights in and around South Waziristan and expect the terrain to be easier than in Swat, where militants took advantage of ravines and deep forests.

But analysts here say this might not be that easy. The hilly terrain is hostile and Mehsud tribesmen, who have provided the bulk of the Pakistani Taliban’s foot soldiers, are known for their fierce opposition to state power.

During colonial times, the British failed to tame the tribes and were forced to send seven expeditions with little success.

Two earlier forays by the Pakistan army against the militants in South Waziristan, in 2004 and 2005, also ended in disaster, forcing the military to enter into controversial “peace agreements”. The subsequent lull in fighting was used by the Taliban to regroup and strengthen their ranks.

However, analysts said previous military efforts were half-hearted and lacked political will. This time the military seems determined to use its full force and has public support behind it.

Asad Munir, a retired brigadier and defence analyst who was formerly the head of military intelligence in the NWFP, said army troops advancing from three sides would face tough resistance initially.

“I think the militant leadership would eventually abandon their positions in the face of the army assault. They cannot fight the army and after they abandon their positions, there will be a lot of sniping, ambushes and raids,” he said.

Mr Munir said the area has had no government control since 2005 and if the army manages to regain the area, “it would have a very demoralising affect on the already depleted forces of the Taliban.

“Once they are dislocated, it will become very difficult for them to regroup.”

smasood@thenational.ae

* With additional reporting by Associated Press