The Sre Vala Killings
The weekend killings of scores of villagers in Sre Vala shows the dark side of the war, where up to 75 innocent Pakistani villagers were mistakenly killed. War is an ugly phenomenon, and as much as we despise the loss of innocent lives, unintentional civilian casualties do happen. Yet limiting the civilian bystander casualties to the minimum is what will define the success or failure of the operation being waged by the Pakistan Army. The war will be won less with the boots and more with the realization that what Pakistan offers is a far superior alternative to the nihilistic Jihadis that were planning to conquer Pakistan. In the Khyber bombings, 75 innocents died due to a massive intelligence failure. Families and children died when the army that they support, dropped bombs on … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Army, FATA, human rights, Rights, state, Taliban, Terrorism, violence, war
Pakistan's Silent Surge
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Mr. Shah Mahmood Qureshi talked with The Newsweek about operation against the Taliban, drone strikes and their effectiveness, as well as the new round of strategic dialogue with the United States. The interview is a pleasant read, and Mr. Qureshi comes across as diplomatic yet candidly clear in his message. His assertion that Pakistan only started winning the war when Pakistani took ownership of the war is quite possibly the single most important determinant why the tables finally turned in this conflict. He uses the term the Silent Surge to describe Pakistan’s Army drive to root out the militants from FATA area. We can all agree that Pakistan’s silent surge is working; though it took thousands of civilian and military lives before Pakistan finally started getting an upper hand … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, Democracy, FATA, India, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Taliban, USA
General in the Hood
(The views expressed here are not necessarily subscribed by the PTH – Editors) THE TIMES OF INDIA By Indrani Baghchi March 22, 2010 Those who know him say he is a brooder. But those who know him well will tell you that’s just one of the layers to the deeply complicated and thinking mind of Pakistan army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The bluster that marked Musharraf has been dumped for quiet gravitas as the man from Rawalpindi goes about turning friends like the US and Britain into closer allies and outmanoeuvering not-so-friendly neighbours like India and Afghanistan at international fora. In a country brought to its knees by terror, corruption and an inept political system, the former ISI chief is putting up a masterly show as he calls the shots. Sitting with foreign minister S … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Army, Benazir Bhutto, FATA, India, Islamabad, Pakistan, south asia, Taliban, Terrorism, USA, Yusuf Raza Gillani, Zardari
Army Chief Driving Pakistan’s Agenda for Talks
Pakistan military is at it again. The news that Army Chief is driving Pakistani policy agenda in Washington is another sign shown by the Pakistan Army that bloody civilians are not to be trusted, yet again. After making a mess of Pakistan by running proxy policies in its Eastern and Western borders, why is the Army taking a lead in developing the new policy for the next decade. Has Army not learnt from the past? In a democratic state, it is the government that sets the policies and leads all policy discussions with the foreign nations. All of us who wish to see democratic rule thrive must condemn this manoeuvre by the Pakistan Army. “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it” (AZW) Cross Post from The New York … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Army, Democracy, FATA, India, Islam, Islamabad, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, Media, Pakistan, state, strategy, Taliban, Terrorism, USA, war, Yusuf Raza Gillani, Zardari
The Economist: Pakistan's role in Afghanistan
The Economist Print Edition, March 18, 2010 A HIGH-LEVEL delegation of Pakistanis is due to sweep into Washington for the restart on March 24th of a “strategic dialogue” with America. The Pakistanis have muscled their way to the table for what looks like a planning session for the endgame in Afghanistan. The recent arrest of the Taliban’s deputy leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and a clutch of his high-ranking comrades, has won them a seat. The Pakistani team, led by the foreign minister, will include both the army chief and the head of the army’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). America has upgraded its own representation at the talks, last held in mid-2008, from deputy-secretary to secretary-of-state level. The dialogue is supposed to cover the gamut of bilateral issues, including help … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, Democracy, FATA, Great game, India, Islamabad, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Taliban, Terrorism, USA
The Year of the Drone, by Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann
We are reproducing an important paper on the drone attacks in Pakistan. This report analyzes the numbers behind the drone attack casualties. This paper further discusses the drone policy implications for the US, Pakistan as well as for the Taliban. I encourage you to visit the New America website for full report with various graphs, further statistics and footnotes that give important details behind the information given in this paper (AZW) Counterterrorism Strategy Initiative Policy Paper The Year of the Drone An Analysis of U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan, 2004-2010 Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann February 24, 2010 For full report please go to http://www.newamerica.net/publications/policy/the_year_of_the_drone Our study shows that the 114 reported drone strikes in northwest Pakistan from 2004 to the present have killed between 830 and 1,210 individuals, of whom around 550 to 850 were described as … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, baluchistan, FATA, Islamabad, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, strategy, Taliban, Terrorism, USA
Speculation surrounds Pak arrests of Taliban
Junaid: Rumors are flying that Pakistan’s arrests of Taliban leaders may signal secret negotiations. http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=4863 … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, FATA, Great game, Islamabad, Pakistan, Peshawar, state, strategy, Taliban, Terrorism, USA, war
Frustrated Strivers in Pakistan Turn to Jihad
By Sabrina Tavernise and Waqar Gillani Published: February 27, 2010 Cross Post from The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/world/asia/28youth.html?hp LAHORE, Pakistan — Umar Kundi was his parents’ pride, an ambitious young man from a small town who made it to medical school in the big city. It seemed like a story of working-class success, living proof in this unequal society that a telephone operator’s son could become a doctor. Lahore has enduring social problems like chronic unemployment. But things went wrong along the way. On campus Mr. Kundi fell in with a hard-line Islamic group. His degree did not get him a job, and he drifted in the urban crush of young people looking for work. His early radicalization helped channel his ambitions in a grander, more sinister way. Instead of healing the sick, Mr. Kundi went on … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, Army, Economy, FATA, Islamabad, Lahore, Pakistan, poverty, psychology, Taliban, Terrorism, USA
Coming Full Circle
By Cyril Almeida From www.dawn.com, Published February 12, 2010 http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/13+cyril-almeida-coming-full-circle-220-za-02 Our boys in uniform have a spring in their step again. Domestically, they have taken on two enemies and appear to be winning: the civilian government has been reduced to parroting the army’s line on security issues, while the TTP is a significantly degraded force. Regionally, they can barely suppress their grins. In a few short weeks, the Americans have gone from threatening a ‘Pakistan first’ option in the war against Al Qaeda and associated movements to desperately seeking someone in Islamabad, or more accurately Pindi, who can put them in touch with the Taliban’s so-called ‘reconcilable’ elements. It’s not quite a wave of triumphalism that is sweeping over the army but there definitely is a widely shared sense of validation. And that should worry … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, Democracy, Egalitarian Pakistan, FATA, India, Islamabad, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, People's Pakistan, Taliban, USA, war, Yusuf Raza Gillani, Zardari
Drone attacks and US reputation —Farhat Taj
In terms of the drone attacks, the US must not make any distinction between al Qaeda and the Taliban. They both have internalised a global ideology that is anti-civilisation and anti-human There is news coming up in the media that al Qaeda in Waziristan may run away to Yemen in the face of growing drone attacks. The people of Waziristan have expressed deep concern at this news. They do not want al Qaeda to run away from Waziristan. They want al Qaeda along with the Taliban burnt to ashes on the soil of Waziristan through relentless drone attacks. The drone attacks, they believe, are the one and only ‘cure’ for these anti-civilisation creatures and the US must robustly administer them the ‘cure’ until their existence is annihilated from the world. The … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, FATA, Islam, Islamism, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Peshawar, strategy, Taliban, Terrorism, USA, war
Moving Towards a Global Afghan Taliban Settlement
Stratfor Analysis January 25, 2010 will be remembered as the day when much of the planet buzzed about diplomatic talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban movement. The chatter comes in the context of a number of conferences that will be held over the course of the next week that focus on dealing with Afghanistan’s jihadist insurgency. The countries being represented at the meetings — including the United States, the Central Asian states, Europe, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, India and China — have a stake in what happens in Afghanistan. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, FATA, Great game, India, Iran, Islam, Islamabad, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, quetta, Religion, strategy, Taliban, Terrorism, USA
Our Commitment to Pakistan
By Robert M Gates, US Secretary of Defence Exclusive to The News, Pakistan Published on January 21, 2010 We are including the link to an important op-ed by US Secretary of Defense Mr. Robert M. Gates. Mr. Gates repeats the message given by Hillary Clinton, that reaches out to the Pakistani population deeply suspicious of the US motives in the present war against extremism. The message looks to repair the trust deficit that has developed over time between Pakistan and the United States, and is a welcome step for the uneven relationship between the two countries who fight the common enemy in this present war. For the full article, please follow the link at the end of the post (Editor) Nearly 25 years ago, in 1986, I arrived in Islamabad for my first visit … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, Democracy, FATA, Great game, History, Islamabad, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Terrorism, USA
Drone attacks: challenging some fabrications
By Farhat Taj Daily Times 02 Jan 2010 The people of Waziristan are suffering a brutal kind of occupation under the Taliban and al Qaeda. Therefore, they welcome the drone attacks There is a deep abyss between the perceptions of the people of Waziristan, the most drone-hit area and the wider Pakistani society on the other side of the River Indus. For the latter, the US drone attacks on Waziristan are a violation of Pakistani’s sovereignty. Politicians, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, Army, FATA, Media, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Taliban, USA
The Taliban, the Pakhtun and Imran Khan
Farhat Taj represents a view that is considered quite unpopular in Pakistan. Even if we do not agree with some of the points she frequently raises, the following is an important read to appreciate the complexities of Pakhtun idenity, the Taliban phenomenon, Taliban sympathizers in Pakistan, and all these factors are currently interacting within the Federation of Pakistan (AZW) By Farhat Taj http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\12\19\story_19-12-2009_pg3_2 Hate for the US is the problem of Imran Khan or his anti-Pakhtun allies. It is not the problem of the people of FATA. Their problem is occupation of their land by the international jihadi gangs. There are clear signs that the people of FATA are cooperating with the Americans in liberating their land from the jihadi occupation … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, FATA, Islamabad, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Peshawar, Taliban
"Pakistan Reported to Be Harassing U.S. Diplomats" – NYT
By JANE PERLEZ and ERIC SCHMITT New York Times December 17, 2009 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Parts of the Pakistani military and intelligence services are mounting what American officials here describe as a campaign to harass American diplomats, fraying relations at a critical moment when the Obama administration is demanding more help to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The campaign includes the refusal to extend or approve visas for more than 100 American officials and the frequent searches of American diplomatic vehicles in major cities, said an American official briefed on the cases. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, FATA, Media, Pakistan, state, Taliban, USA
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