Before launching a fully-fledged military operation in North Waziristan as demanded by the United States, Pakistan is urging the Haqqani network to begin a peace dialogue with the US and Afghan authorities, but to the disappointment of Islamabad, Washington is not receptive to the idea because it thinks the militant faction too close to al Qaeda, unlike other Taliban groups. In the wake of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s killing, the US is pushing Pakistan afresh, and very strongly, for a military offensive against the Haqqani network, which it believes is the most influential militant group but difficult to win over because of its closeness to al Qaeda.
The network, which allegedly operates from North Waziristan, is blamed for several suicide bombings and acts of sabotage in Afghanistan against the US-led foreign troops and Afghan army, including a deadly attack on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)’s forward operating base in Chapman, Khost province, in which seven operatives of the US spy agency were killed. The Americans believe that the Haqqani network, which is led by Siraj Haqqani, son of veteran militant commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, cannot be separated from al Qaeda, and hence talking to them is no use. Similarly, the Haqqanis too are not in any rush to enter into peace talks with the US administration as media reports have started suggesting that the US has finally entered into peace talks with the Mullah Omar-led Taliban, which is the largest insurgent group in Afghanistan.
Pakistan wants a seat for the Haqqanis on the table of negotiations in Afghanistan because it believes that for durable and lasting peace in the war-torn country, the network’s participation is a must. “We don’t have any links with the Haqqani network as alleged by Washington, but we see this group as very influential in Afghanistan and its exclusion from any peace process would not serve the purpose at all,” said a senior security official here on Sunday, requesting anonymity. When asked whether Pakistan would launch an operation in North Waziristan if the Haqqanis did not respond positively to Islamabad’s pressure or if the US continued to oppose the move, he said there would be no other option but to launch the offensive in that case. He said Pakistan believed the Haqqanis were not in North Waziristan and they had now shifted their bases to Khost and other nearby provinces of Afghanistan after a surge in CIA drone attacks on the restive tribal region.
“However, that tribal area does have many troublemakers, including foreign militants, and an operation would be launched to flush them out,” he said. He said a fresh military operation in North Waziristan had long been on the cards but lack of resources and the army’s preoccupation with other campaigns in various tribal regions had been delaying it. An intelligence official also told Pakistan Today that the Haqqanis were most likely now on the other side of border. “One reason for that is the increasing drone strikes in North Waziristan, and the killing of Osama bin Laden… might have pushed them to change their abode, fearing that such targeted action could take place against them as well,” he said.
