Monday, September 22, 2008

Pakistan Government Plans New Operation In NW Tribal Areas, More Troops Committed


This really is excellent news. With Ramadan winding down (at least for the government of Pakistan), the military is planning a new operation in the Northwest Frontier provinces and will commit more military troops to the operation against the Taliban and other factions. Here's the entire brief article found over at GEO:


Operation in FATA to be intensified

ISLAMABAD: The federal government says it will intensify operations in FATA, with more security personnel set to be committed to the fight for a large operation which is to begin sometime in the next 48 hours.Speaking to Geo News, Interior officials said that the operation in Swat, Bajaur and other tribal agencies will continue. After a brief consultation between the Prime Minister, Interior Advisors and other security officials, it was decided not to show any sign of weakness in the operation against the militants.The intensity of the crackdown against banned militant
organisations will be increased, and more troops will be sent to the tribal areas.

I'd be lying if I hadn't thought that the Pakistani government might reconsider all operations in the tribal areas once Ramadan had ended...but it's my guess that the latest huge bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad pushed that cowardly tendency off the table and spurred this tougher stance. It's my hope that this renewed commitment by Pakistan will also welcome some "help" from U.S. and NATO air support over the region.

With a continued high pressure on the border area of Pakistan and Afghanistan continuing over the next few months, it could pose some real problems for the Taliban holing up for winter. It's my guess that a majority of Taliban would like to winter in the mountains of NW Pakistan but this major operation in the area by Pakistani troops could very well cut off some paths into the area. It would be awesome to see the Taliban in Afghanistan forced into finding their refuge there while the Americans and NATO can pick them off as they move into the higher ground.

No comments: