TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

Need to cut off funding. That's urgent, traceable and doable, given intent.

Anti-Taliban lashkars might be a bad idea. That's similar to lashkars we created for fighting kafir Russians.

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

Dear Ali,

The anger and sarcasm is clearly evident from your response. But let me assure you that continuous mistrust between our nations plays in the favor of our common enemies. You must remember that these terrorists view our nations as a common block that’s preventing them from achieving their evil objectives. We wish to see a safe and stable Pakistan for the sake of stabilizing the region. We realize that the cross border incursion is an area of concern that needs to be addressed. And we are working closely with the Pakistani government and the ANSF to address this issue on both sides of the border. Curtailing our cooperation and coordination will not help solve this problem. We’ve already lost some valuable time due to our differences, and the focus at the moment is on creating a healthy working relationship, so we can strategize effectively against these terrorists.

LTC Taylor,
DET, United States Central Command
www.Centcom.mil/Ur

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

^ so what is US doing to stop the infiltration from Kunar and Nuristan to Pakistan? The drones which can see inside Pakistan, do they become blind within the confines of Afghanistan (especially when it concerns TTP)?

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

Why is US going to do that? US is about to run from Afghanistan leaving it burning, completely collapsing, turning whole region upside down. 10-20 years down the road when Pakistan will turn into Afghanistan because of terrorists taking over because of supply from "somewhere" then US will come to the "rescue" of the region once again. Rinse and repeat, the cycle will continue until its "missions" are accomplished.

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

'
just like when Salala incident happened, Afghans/US came up was this "ill defined border "excuse.

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

N Waziristan Operation: options to consider – The Express Tribune

N Waziristan Operation: options to consider

http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/425173-KhalidMunirNew-1345735668-571-640x480.jpg

The writer is a retired army officer who served in Fata and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa [email protected]

Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has finally said what the world had been waiting to hear for quite some time now. Speaking at the Azadi Parade at the Pakistan Military Academy over a week ago, he said that militants were a threat to Pakistan and that the army and the nation needed to fight them under a united banner. Yet, he still fell short of calling them Taliban.
Since that speech, there have been conflicting statements and reports — from Washington and Islamabad — on the scope of the planned operation against militants, specifically in North Waziristan. A joint operation has been ruled out by Pakistan and in any case America will not want to get entangled in another area. A coordinated operation and what it would entail has not been explained by either America or Pakistan. Yet, the operation is imminent now. Additional troops have been moved to the area. The army is claiming that a final decision will be taken by the government and if not withdrawn, governor Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s order of 2009 should still be effective and can be used to start the operation.
If a targeted operation means going after specific targets, it will require excellent intelligence, which is lacking at the moment. The Pakistan army also does not have the luxury of drones, gunships and the use of the air force could result in extensive collateral damage. This means that for raids on specific targets, ground troops will have to be deployed. Use of ground forces will result in fighting in the built-up area, which is dreaded by armies due to heavy losses suffered by troops in such situations. Due to limited night-flying capabilities, night raids as carried out in Afghanistan are also not possible. Furthermore, villagers fear the Taliban, so they will not provide help and intelligence to the military. A targeted operation will be a slow and prolonged campaign and will not bring about a quick solution.
A possible option could to be to emulate the strategy employed in Swat and South Waziristan, of vacating the whole area and treating any person found after a deadline as enemy. Swat was a success primarily because of factors not relevant in the North Waziristan case. Both Swat and South Waziristan (the Mehsud area) had no access to Afghanistan. Historically, Swat was a peaceful area and militancy was not in the blood of the Swatis. Falling unknowingly into trap of the Taliban, they were quick to vacate the area, became IDPs and within three months went back to their homes. The IDPs of South Waziristan are still reluctant to go back and remain in camps in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank. Though much smaller than South Waziristan, North Waziristan cannot be vacated. With porous borders, militants will prefer crossing the border. And that is where a coordinated effort will be needed. But ISAF’s ability to deploy sufficient troops on the Afghan side of the border is in doubt.
Yet another option is to keep the operation localised. Instead of a major offensive, the agency can be cleared piecemeal. For example, a possible area can be from Bannu till Mir Ali, securing the Mir Ali-Thal road and including the right bank of the Tochi River. However, chances are that militants will not let it remain a localised operation and will try and spread it. Lacking the capability to fight pitched battles, their decentralised command system gives them the advantage of being able to take the initiative and employ hit-and-run tactics.
Whatever option is adopted, it is going to be a prolonged operation and various factors will affect the outcome. Even if it is to target the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the reaction of Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulvi Nazir of South Waziristan will play an important role. They are most likely to jump into the conflict. Also, a question remains as to why the US is interested in an operation against only the TTP. At the very least, the American perception that the situation in Afghanistan is bad because of North Waziristan will be proved wrong.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24[SUP]th[/SUP], 2012.

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

he has raised some valid points. some people are comparing swat operation with this one, overlooking the fact, Swat is not linked with Afghanistan.

I say, army should bring residents on board,what's their say on this, do they want army to go ahead with this operation or oppose any such operation?

if either way army is going ahead with operation, then make sure they vacate the areas. but again. I was thinking we have already so many internally displaced people, how they are going to look after NW residents? :(

what's the estimated population of NW?

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

This operation could be a disaster for the army if rushed. It seems as if the TTP wants to lure the army in there, as its a built up area with open borders with Afghanistan. They will try to widen any limited operation launched there, to inflict maximum losses to the army, and if they try to use air support that will cause a lot of collateral damage (which would be used as a propaganda by them). The end result could be damage to both the army and the country.

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

http://www.saach.tv/2012/08/24/news-night-with-talat-24-8-12/#.UDfOHbSDB_Y.facebook

Talat hussain on North Waziristan!

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

my concerns are that this operation could cause collateral damage, which we certainly cannot afford. Is army thinking of going for full scale operation or just limited?

same ttp guys who were pushed out from SW are now taking refugee there. if they are able to eliminate those training centers, that would be really a big achievement. but again, easier said than done!

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

**Militants flee North Waziristan
**

Hundreds of militants and their family members have streamed out of North Waziristan in the past two days in anticipation of the operation, local residents said.

Many of the militants who started fleeing in vehicles on Thursday were from Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, said local residents, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear for their safety. They also included some Arabs and fighters from Chechnya. Many foreign fighters in North Waziristan are closely allied with the Pakistani Taliban.

Pakistani Taliban militants were seen patrolling the area, but did not seem to be fleeing. Some local tribesmen were looking for homes outside of North Waziristan to which they could flee, but did not seem overly concerned about reports of an upcoming military operation.

By Friday, around 1,000 people, including wives and children of the foreign militants, had fled from four villages surrounding Mir Ali, one of the main towns

US drones kill at least 18 in northwest Pakistan | DAWN.COM

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

The army wants a limited operation, but TTP would want to drag them into a bigger conflict (which includes Haqqani Network, Mullah Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadar). If the army carries out air strikes (it could result in a large amount of civilian casualties as its a built up area), the militants can use that as a propaganda against them and if they use conventional forces there would be greater chances for a large number of military casualties.

Worst come worst scenario for them, they will just move across the border into Afghanistan and carry on their activities from there (the border is porous in any case). I dont see the army achieving anything in the short term, in case of a long conflict all the guns in FATA will turn against Pakistani state. If ISAF cannot face all of these militants in Afghanistan, I dont know how we can with our failing economy. If the situation gets out of control, US can at any stage intervene to 'protect its ally'.

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

Safdar Dawar ‏@DawarSafdar](https://twitter.com/DawarSafdar)
**local taliban shoora and dawar, wazir tribes jirga held in waziristan.they both discussed the possible operation in north waziristan .

**Safdar Dawar ‏@DawarSafdar](https://twitter.com/DawarSafdar)
**they directed local that if operation started they should move to afghanistan not to the settled areas of pakistan.

Safdar Dawar ‏@DawarSafdar](https://twitter.com/DawarSafdar)
@n2_noreen](https://twitter.com/n2_noreen) yes but not for fighters this directive is only for IDPs from joint jirga of taliban and two big tribes DAWAR and WAZIR of NWA.**

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

if they flee to eastern parts of Afghanistan, that's even more worrisome, they can easily carry out attacks against Pakistan army, there are just so many different things that need to be taken into account, before they get started.

However, I think its still not confirmed whether the army is conducting an operation there or not. When Pakistan senior military commander was asked about possible operation in NW, he said that he's not aware of it and no decision had been taken so far.

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

will Afghanistan happily welcome residents there? I dont think so!

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

^ there are the same people on their side (Wazirs), I dont see any problem for them in accepting them. The border is such that half the villages are in Pakistan and half in Afghanistan, the main reason why Afghanistan and the tribals don't consider Durrand line as a border between the two countries.

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

Waziristan operation: Tribesmen threaten influx into Afghanistan – The Express Tribune

**MIRAMSHAH: ****Tribal elders and pro-government tribesmen have warned that they would renounce Pakistani nationality and migrate to Afghanistan if the government launched a military operation in North Waziristan Agency.

**

The warning was issued by a tribal jirga held at Islami Madrassa Nizamia Idak Shura Waziristan in the Mir Ali area on Saturday. A large number of elders from Uthmanzai and other tribes attended the assembly.

**They said that they would settle in Khost, Paktia and Paktika provinces of Afghanistan.
**

**The jirga noted that the Afghan government was better than Pakistan as “it does not allow drone attacks on innocent children and women”.
**

Addressing the tribesmen, local leaders Maulvi Abdur Rahman, Maulvi Gul Ramzan and peace committee chief Mufti Sadiqullah accused the government of violating peace deals in the region.

However, they asked the local populace not to panic and flee their homes as the government has yet not made a formal announcement of launching a military operation in the region.

The jirga formed a committee that would meet with the political agent to ask him about the veracity of rumours of an imminent military operation.

The committee would also convey to the political agent that local tribesmen were body-searched at check posts even though the situation in the agency was relatively calm.

Meanwhile, political administration officials clamped a day-time curfew in most parts of the agency on Saturday.

The curfew hours will be from 5am to 3pm, according to an official announcement.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26[SUP]th[/SUP], 2012.

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

Thousands flee Waziristan in fear of military offensive | DAWN.COM

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

A related news
The son and daughter-in-law of a diehard Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) activist were killed in a recent drone strike in the North Waziristan tribal agency.
http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/v2/y4/r/-PAXP-deijE.gifFuneral in absentia: JI leader’s jihadi son died in drone strike](http://tribune.com.pk/story/426363/funeral-in-absentia-ji-leaders-jihadi-son-died-in-drone-strike/)tribune.com.pkQazi Hussain Ahmed pays glowing tribut*es to Eng Ahsen Aziz and his wife.

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Re: TTP threatens attacks on army, in case of any army operation in NW

thousands of NW residents have left the area in fear, in spite of no confirm news of possible operation.