The word is that the Pakistani Army is on its way to Mohmand Agency in northwestern Pakistan and from the report here at Daily Times, it certainly looks legit. Here's the details of what is planned:
Now, I have been quick to criticize these offensives because they literally last only two or three days but it's my belief that the Pakistani military has taken control of these offensives from the new government and that is why the current operations are continuing. The Taliban, before, would just offer up a peace agreement and the new government would stop the operation and sit down and appease. But things seem different now.
I guess that a good test of my theory will be when a large number of Paki soldiers are captured (it always seems to happen) and then we'll see what the response from the Pakistan government is. If the military is running the show, then I think they would take a tough stance, but if the new government has the strings, they'll break and make concessions to free the troops.
The current military operation going on in Pakistan has reportedly netted over 450 dead Taliban...hopefully, this new offensive will double or triple that number.
People from more than 75 villages of Mohmand Agency have started to leave their homes, as a military operation is on cards in the strategic tribal agency to clear the area of Taliban militants, officials said on Thursday.
Deployment: Army contingents were also moving from Peshawar towards the Warsak Dam and Shin Saro areas while convoys with artillery were seen moving towards the agency where Taliban had blown up a school in Shin Derai on Wednesday night. Security officials told Daily Times that an operation was likely to be launched in the next three days. The officials said the forces were deployed near the strategic Warsak Dam, which is located on the Peshawar-Mohmand border.
Now, I have been quick to criticize these offensives because they literally last only two or three days but it's my belief that the Pakistani military has taken control of these offensives from the new government and that is why the current operations are continuing. The Taliban, before, would just offer up a peace agreement and the new government would stop the operation and sit down and appease. But things seem different now.
I guess that a good test of my theory will be when a large number of Paki soldiers are captured (it always seems to happen) and then we'll see what the response from the Pakistan government is. If the military is running the show, then I think they would take a tough stance, but if the new government has the strings, they'll break and make concessions to free the troops.
The current military operation going on in Pakistan has reportedly netted over 450 dead Taliban...hopefully, this new offensive will double or triple that number.
Operation in Mohmand on cards
MICHANI: People from more than 75 villages of Mohmand Agency have started to leave their homes, as a military operation is on cards in the strategic tribal agency to clear the area of Taliban militants, officials said on Thursday. Thousands of men, women, children and elderly people were leaving their houses to take refuge with their relatives in the suburban areas of Peshawar or inside the city, Daily Times learnt from those leaving their homes.
The villages of Rahim Kor, Banglo, Dab Kor, Karerai, Aisho Kor, Zarif Kor, Sheen Derai and Badio were deserted after residents left. Taliban militants carrying Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenades were patrolling different areas of Mohmand with impunity, eyewitnesses claimed. Deployment: Army contingents were also moving from Peshawar towards the Warsak Dam and Shin Saro areas while convoys with artillery were seen moving towards the agency where Taliban had blown up a school in Shin Derai on Wednesday night. Security officials told Daily Times that an operation was likely to be launched in the next three days. The officials said the forces were deployed near the strategic Warsak Dam, which is located on the Peshawar-Mohmand border.
According to locals, people had been fleeing the villages of the lower Mohmand Agency for three days. Ali Abbas, a store owner, told Daily Times that 75 percent people had vacated their houses and more were shifting from the area. Abbas said many families, whose male relatives are abroad, were facing problems. With no male guardian and no relatives in Peshawar, the families could neither stay nor leave their houses. Many women with children were seen crossing the makeshift Michani Bridge on Kabul River to move into Peshawar. The bridge had collapsed three years ago. Mohmand Agency is located some 23 kilometres from Peshawar. Besides Peshawar, the agency borders Charsadda district at Shabqadar, Bajaur and Khyber agencies and the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.
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