I think this is quick true. Pakistan Army and government do not have very good strategy to fight Taliban. They don’t know about urban warfare. They are relying too heavily on tanks and jets. While this may be helpful, I think we actually needs to improve human intelligence in Taliban-occupied areas, and convince local people to fight them.
This strategy worked very well in Iraq’s Anbar province.
LAHORE: Both Pakistani politicians and the military lack a strategy on how to deal with the Taliban, CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen has said.
“I don’t think,” said Bergen while speaking about Pakistan’s historic and current impact on the politics of Afghanistan, “the Pakistani establishment knows what they’re going to do with this problem, and when I say the establishment, I mean the political-military establishment. I don’t think they have a real plan. I think they’re surviving day-to-day.”
Re: What should be Pakistan's strategy to eliminate Taliban?
First thing required is to regain public confidence.
and by the way Khoji you are doing well all the times to prove your name. If you are somewhere away from capital you can write about the hidden culprits. My tip , The man common between PPP and PML n.
Re: What should be Pakistan's strategy to eliminate Taliban?
Zardari is making noises about taking over and reforming madarsas. This would be good step in the right direction for long term strategy. The other part of the strategy will be to counteract the talibani and jehadi propoganda in the media and from the pulpit by talibani supporters. This might mean curtailing some freedom of speech and freedom of press but this is war we are talking about. Cutting of funding and weapons sources will be very important too. Sustained military operations need to be there.
Re: What should be Pakistan's strategy to eliminate Taliban?
And there will need to be 24/7 military presence in all areas taken back from taliban. Local intelligence networks destroyed by the taliban need to be rebuilt.
Re: What should be Pakistan's strategy to eliminate Taliban?
^ good luck. Nato is having a tough time, their supply line is being disrupted in Pakistan (which btw supports the killing of innocent afghans, thus the current situation)
Why do you guys beat around the bush? From what I can tell, Taliban in Afghanistan ruled with "you respect me, I respect you" fashion. As evident by many groups before 9/11.
All of a sudden, after 911 they become an evil terrorist organization raping, killing, murdering children across the continent?
Oh really? More pakistanis are guilty of that then the movement in Afghanistan. If US hadn't droned the hell out of Afghanistan prior to and now after the invasion, you wouldnj't have the opinion you do now.
I'm surprised that people are falling for this propaganda.
Re: What should be Pakistan's strategy to eliminate Taliban?
The massacres of mazar-i-sharif, the brutality of day to day talib rule is not "respect". Admit it, the taliban are in the wrong in almost every way. They have killed more muslims in the afghan/pak area then the US. Their kill everyone else mentality is what we are fighting against.
Re: What should be Pakistan's strategy to eliminate Taliban?
^without actually proving somebody did something, anyone could be considered behind these attacks. that doesnt mean i agree with everything that talibs are doing but it means not everything that is happening is being done by them.
Re: What should be Pakistan's strategy to eliminate Taliban?
Going on a side note here. The taliban conquest of Afghanistan was one of the worst for that country. Before Taliban most of battles were won by a show of strength, bribes and few skirmishes that did not hurt genral population. Taliban's conquest of Northern and Western Afghanistan was a an ethnic and minority cleansing affair that involved large massacares, destruction, buring, looting, rape and forced migration of entire villages. They were especially brutal to non-Pakhtun population. The taliban camaign was not any thing to admire.
It is not that difficult. Military should physically wipe them out. The intelligence agencies never support them in future. All aid and charities coming from inside and countries like SA should be stopped forthwith. Government of Pakistan, political parties and NGOs should ensure that this is religiously enforced and start people awareness through mosques, news papers, TV, radio highlighting their barbaric and brutal attitude towards humans.
Since government will be getting $1.90 billions of aid from Uncle Sam, most of the aid it should spend on social programs such as education, healthcare, water, electricity, infrastructures and start employment programs for youth. Taliban in Pakistan, will become history with in six months or at the maximum one year.:)
^without actually proving somebody did something, anyone could be considered behind these attacks. that doesnt mean i agree with everything that talibs are doing but it means not everything that is happening is being done by them.
They are all fighting under the same ideological cover as the taliban, no matter they call themselves TTP or LeT.
everything that talibs are doing but it means not everything that is happening is being done by them.
There is a whole set of people whose entire concern over this unrest revolves around the possibility that once the Taliban are defeated, Pot will become scarce in Pakistan and they will have to pay prices comparable to western countries(like rice and flour in the last few years).
Dont worry croquet ! you dont need the Taliban for that...
This might mean curtailing some freedom of speech and freedom of press but this is war we are talking about. .
Horrible idea^!
The registration of madrasas is not enough, they have to be regulated. We cant have kids living there 24/7 for years. There are 12,000 madrasas in Pakistan. A good part of that 1.9 Billion in aid has to be used to create schools for kids so poverty stricken families have other options apart from sending kids to madrasas.
Re: What should be Pakistan's strategy to eliminate Taliban?
Madrassa system has a deep rooting in Pakistani society, and might not be as easy to "break into pieces" as said...what is possible and should be done is to mainstream the madaaris, fund them federally and churn out intellectuals who are scholars as well as scientists/doctors/engineers, and so on...some of the best intellectuals of Caliphate era went to universities that maybe equivalent to a Madrassa in today's age, the only difference then was that Govt. supported them, rated them, and regulated the syllabus. same can be done today.
Re: What should be Pakistan's strategy to eliminate Taliban?
yeah, i understand that. the madrassa can be a multi-layered educational facility where children of all ages can come and get educated. same principle (poor kids, unable to afford school/education, interested in islamic studies), but the difference being that their school/madrasa is federally funded/regulated hence the merit. the better the results, the more the funding, and so on...
the problem with madaaris has been that they were for the most part privately funded, so the financier gets to endorse his/her policies and madrasa follows. can't say no to the hand that feeds it, right? plus im not so sure if they even keep a record of the funds they're given and the origin of the finances and so on...basically no regulation of the money that is coming in and that makes for a easy target for anyone with enough money who wants to brainwash a batch of kids.
living in madrasa is same as a hostel, except the students don't pay because they're unable to.
it's a costly venture, but the results will outweigh the cost. we will eliminate terrorism (that in itself is priceless), we will have scholars with a religous background and scholastic degrees who can go on to become other professionals, and so on...
you get what i'm saying?
that's how i see as a way to eliminate the cause and consequence of extremism on a grassroot level.
Re: What should be Pakistan's strategy to eliminate Taliban?
training or motivating students to blow themselves up should be a crime. beyond checking that crime, the government has no need to meddle in madrassas.
people who send their kids to madrassas are like any other parents, trying to get good education for their children. places where these madrassas thrive are places where government schools are either non-existent or barely operational. thats where the government needs to focus its efforts.
if government schools start producing students better suited for the practical world than madrassas then madrassas will (and do) adjust their curriculums accordingly.
coming to the thread topic, there is sadly only one approach and that is the measured, intelligent use of force to eliminate the taliban leadership. once that is done, the army needs to vacate the area, improve law enforcement, and just let democracy run its course.
Re: What should be Pakistan's strategy to eliminate Taliban?
No doubt about the first sentence. it is indeed a huge crime against humanity, and goes against the spirit of Islam.
But, i do think that govt. has to play a bigger role in reforming the madaaris, atleast initially and give them a direction, appoint worthy scholars to overlook the institutions and then the govt. can step back and let the institution/madrasa prove its worth.
if the madaaris are becoming a hub for brainwashing or teaching the kids a corrupt version of Islam, and it is done so within Pakistan, then it becomes the Govt's responsibility to step in and regulate. State board/city board/federal board, and so on....
perhaps some of the people that attend madrasa do so because they feel it is more religiously inclined than say the Govt. schools, (just guessing).
i do however agree with your approach as well. precision is the key. minimal loss of life, target the leadership, ask the foot soldiers to disarm and go through rehab, strengthen the infrastructure, improve economics of the region and see it thrive progressively.
