Pakistan government and armed forces had earlier proved their local and western detractors wrong when they destroyed the infrastructure of the militalnts in Swat and Malakand. Some defence analysts were of the opinion that Waziristan being a difficult terrain and the Mehsuds the most ferocious of the militants it would be an uphill task for the army. Anyhow, there are reports of roadside bombings and stiff resistance that left at least two soldiers dead and eight wounded. Thousands of troops, backed by jet fighters and helicopter gun-ships, started advancing on the Mehsud tribe’s heartland at Makin from three points. Pakistan government and the armed forces have expressed their determination to take this operation to the logical conclusion. At the same time, there is something sinister being played around Pakistan. At this crucial moment when Pakistan’s armed forces have gone all out to fight terrorists in South Waziristan, NATO forces, instead of taking the terrorists head on, have vacated at lease eight check posts adjacent to Pakistan border before the military operation started in Waziristan taking the plea that about seven Isaf troops were killed at one of the posts near Pak-Afghan border. The army which is scared of facing the enemy because of the fear of having casualties, it is bound to be defeated. And this is the reason that the US and NATO forces have not been able to achieve any of its objectives in Afghanistan. It is an irrefragable fact that war has more than one dimension - physical war and the war of attrition. And when the army commanders lose in the war of attrition and they are scared of casualties then the result is the same as in Afghanistan. Secondly, when the US has to ‘outsource’ the security of its security forces to contractors and mercenaries, then one has to wonder what sort of army is this? In April 2004, a military operation was launched and ended in November 2004 after the jirga of 400 tribal elders promised not to give shelter to foreign militants. In 2006 and then in 2008 operations were launched but every operation ended with peace agreement on to be violated by Baitullah Mehsud who was a linchpin in the forces that wish to harm Pakistan. In January 2008, Taliban supreme commander Mullah Omer sacked Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan for shifting the focus from fighting US and NATO troops in Afghanistan to Pakistan’s security forces. Not that Mullah Omer has any love for Pakistan and its security forces but what he meant was that Baitullah Mehsud has sold himself out to the US for advancing its interest in the region. However, he was killed in a drone attack in August 2009, and Tehrik-i-Taliban seems to be in disarray rather divided. Ever since the commencement of the US-led war against Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgents in Afghanistan, Islamabad has deployed 100,000 troops and established over 1,000 border check posts along the border to check the entry of militants from its soil into Afghanistan. It is the responsibility of the US and Afghanistan to take measures to stop movements of the militants but on their side of the border there are only 150 check posts on its 2640 km long border. Pakistan had suggested many a time to fence and mine the Pak-Afghan border at selective places but Afghanistan always rejected Pakistan’s proposal. India, Israel, Afghanistan and the US appear to have coalesced on a common objective to weaken Pakistan for different reasons. India considers Pakistan as an obstacle in its plans to extend hegemony over the neighbouring countries. War lords of Northern Alliance do not wish to see Taliban succeed in their struggle against the US. Israel has the feeling that nuclear Pakistan is a source of strength to the Arab world, which could make Israel’s task of bullying them more difficult. For America, Israel’s security is the cornerstone of its foreign policy; the US, therefore, wants to ward off any potential threat to Israel by denuclearizing Pakistan. And last but not the least the US would not like to see a strong Muslim country that could pose a palpable threat to its global interests. There is a perception that the US has not abandoned its insidious plan of destabilizing Pakistan. It was in this backdrop that some analysts were of the view that America wanted to see Pakistan stretch its armed forces in Waziristan and then later in Balochistan, which would have to move its troops from the eastern borders. India will thus be able to concentrate on its border with China. Anyhow, Pakistan military has been bracing for an operation in Waziristan for the past three months, putting in place at least 28,000 troops and enforcing a crippling blockade that forced thousands of people to flee their homes for safety. According to reports, the army and intelligence agencies had undertaken extensive studies to make the operation a success. Military officials say that militant commander Maulvi Nazir and his Ahmadzai Wazir tribe in the Wana region had publicly dissociated themselves from the Mehsuds. General David Petraeus, head of the US Central Command in due in Pakistan to talk to Pakistani commanders who are conducting a major operation against the extremists in South Waziristan. Meanwhile, America has expedited the delivery of the equipment for precision bombing and night vision goggles and other gadgets to facilitate the operation. There is a perception that the delay in the operation was due to lack of resources and the government did not meet the requirements of the army vis-à-vis necessary equipment and financial resources. On Friday, Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, gave a detailed briefing to the country’s top leadership. The meeting was attended by the leaders of major opposition parties who decided in principle to launch a military operation in South Waziristan, terming it ‘imperative’ to eliminate terrorism and extremism from the country. In print and electronic media, however, absence of President Asif Ali Zardari from the above meeting was highlighted as if he has committed a great sin or that nation has been deprived of expert advice of the genius or a person with remarkable cerebral faculties. When there is a national consensus that in parliamentary democracy prime minister is supposed to chair such meeting, so he did chair the meeting. The participants of the meeting had agreed that a recent spate of suicide bombings in different parts of the country had roots in South Waziristan, and suicide bombings and terrorist attacks could not be curbed without crushing terrorists’ leaders hiding in tribal areas. There was no significant opposition to the operation in the meeting, except some concerns expressed by leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-N as usual because most of them seem to have soft corner for the religious right and the militants. A source quoted PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar as saying: “We were invited to discuss the law and order situation, but the whole discussion focused on South Waziristan” It is unfortunate that he does not see any relevance of military operation in Waziristan with the law and order situation created by the terrorists’ attacks. In fact, this is not the time for bickering and debating or point-scoring but the entire nation should wholeheartedly support the armed forces. At this point in time when Pakistan is facing threats to its internal and external security and vital decisions are to be taken for the integrity and solidarity of the country, the PML-N should support the government without ifs and buts. In fact, both the ruling and the opposition parties should put their act together to face the challenges confronted by the nation. In the meeting, the leadership acknowledged the army’s successes in Malakand and Swat, condemned the recent upsurge of terror incidents and agreed that militancy posed a serious threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the state. “The political leadership assembled together appreciated the sacrifices and the ongoing efforts of the Pakistan Army in this regard,” the handout said. This laconic text shows that the political leadership is not generous in paying tributes to those jawans and officers who laid down their lives while defending the country and also during their operations against the terrorists.
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