Grading Zarb-e-Azb

One year and counting

On the surface, at least, there is much to celebrate in the first year of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. North Waziristan, long the epicenter of terrorism in Pakistan, the stronghold of the notorious Haqqani Network and TTP, is no longer their command and control centre. The combined air and land offensive has decimated the sanctuary. It has been some time, in fact, since the Haqqanis were even mentioned in the local press. And Fazlullah and his boys, too, are on the run. They have long since fled across the Durand Line into Afghanistan.

But as appreciated as the success is, it also raises some questions. Not long ago we were informed that the Afghans were in fact sheltering our Taliban on their side of the border. It suited them just fine since they accused our establishment of sheltering their brand of Taliban. Now that our enemy is on their side of the border again, what exactly is its position? Is it still being helped by elements across the border? Again, politically that would be unfeasible, since the ISI and its Afghan counterpart NDS have signed a cooperation agreement. Why, then, are they still safe in Afghanistan? And how are they able to conduct high profile attacks inside Pakistan?

Of course, there can be no denying that the military must be credited with taking the fight to the enemy, even when many in government still favoured talks. Most likely that is what enabled the Taliban’s high command to slip across the border in the first place; the government’s reluctance to forego talks in favour of action. But now the fight is in a very different phase. Fata has clearly been cleared of much of its terrorist infrastructure. But sooner or later attention must turn to cities – urban centres where blowback has different value altogether. The military has done a fine job of keeping public opinion on its side so far, even though there has been no independent verification of information coming out of FATA. Perhaps a clearer picture of where we stand would stand the army, and the government, in a better position. We must know how much longer Zarb-e-Azb will last. And what it will take to make it come full circle.