05561246cad78210VgnVCM200000e66411acRCRDapproved/thenational/Articles/Migration/2009-Q2This is not the way to defeat the Talibanf4561246cad78210VgnVCM200000e66411ac____The world seems to be breathing sighs of relief at the sight of Pakistan's military fighting the Taliban in the Swat Valley. A few days ago the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said she was "quite impressed" with Pakistan's assault, after having previously accused Islamabad of "capitulating" to the Taliban.<p>The world seems to be breathing sighs of relief at the sight of Pakistan's military fighting the Taliban in the Swat Valley. A few days ago the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said she was "quite impressed" with Pakistan's assault, after having previously accused Islamabad of "capitulating" to the Taliban. General David Petraeus spoke of a "degree of unanimity" between Pakistan's civilian and military leaders about the need to fight the Taliban. Apparently, that unanimity did not include the Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari. His claim that the country's military offensive would soon expand into the tribal areas was quickly contradicted by the prime minister and later retracted by the president. While Mr Zardari claims he was misquoted, the speed of the retraction highlights two important facts.</p> <p>First, Taliban penetration in Pakistan extends well beyond Swat. The core of the loosely affiliated movement in Pakistan resides in the tribal areas where the central government has never held much sway. The Taliban in Swat are merely the vanguard of the organisation's spread into the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), and defeating those particular insurgents does little to address the threat they pose to the nation. Second, both the civilian and military leadership are reluctant to enter into the tribal areas. Earlier attempts by the Pakistani military to crush the movement resulted in heavy casualties and ended with ceasefires that ceded control of the region to the Taliban leadership.</p> <p>So while Washington appears to be cheering on the Pakistani military, there is little to indicate that the country is making any greater commitment to the fight. Rather, this offensive is a belated response to a serious security threat. The Taliban's expansion into the NWFP and a mere 120km from the capital could not be tolerated. Furthermore, unlike the tribal areas, the NWFP has much closer ties with the central government, so the Taliban's attempt to establish a parallel system of government in the Malakand division was tantamount to secession. Combined with the fact that the hardline ideology and fundamentalist interpretation of Islam is foreign to the majority of residents in the region, this assault is more of a liberation operation than a similar attack would be in the tribal areas.</p> <p>However, even as the Pakistani military appears to be making progress in its assault, it must be noted that the solution to increasing "Talibanisation" requires a more varied tool kit than the one the army is employing. The estimated 20,000 civilians trapped in the city of Mingora, where the heaviest fighting is now taking place, are caught between Taliban forces and the Pakistani army, which is employing non-discriminatory munitions such as bombs, missiles and artillery. While the military has expressed its wish to avoid civilian casualties, a better move would be to limit the use of these arms.</p> <p>It would be wrong to compare Pakistan to Iraq, but there are lessons for the country's general corps in that conflict. The US's reliance on air assaults and overwhelming technological advantage did nothing to secure the country. A focus on population security and good governance did wonders. This is where the Pakistani army and civilian leadership must achieve greater co-operation. The Taliban use the absence of government to insinuate itself into a population. Pakistan must not give them that opening, whether in Swat or in the tribal areas.</p> 84NNOPINION2009052500000020090525000000100ARhttp://adedit.ad.atl.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090525/OPINION/705249920670524992020090525100000000