PAKISTAN ZINDABAD!

• Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gives Pakistan Army formal approval to launch long-awaited full scale military operation against foreign and local terrorists in North Waziristan Agency after talks with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban failed to bring peace to country
• ISPR DG says Operation Zarb-e-Azb aims at eliminating terrorists regardless of hue and colour, along with their sanctuaries in North Waziristan
• Defence Minister Khawaja Asif says operation will continue till complete elimination of enemies of country
• At least 120 terrorists, mostly Uzbeks and including mastermind of Karachi airport attack, killed in coordinated operation involving air force, artillery, tanks and ground troops in Boya tehsil, Degan forests and Datta Khel tehsil of North Waziristan
• Analyst Ayesha Siddiqa says focusing only on North Waziristan ignores wider problem of militants in the rest of the country 

The Pakistan Army on Sunday finally launched the long-awaited full scale military operation against foreign and local terrorists in North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

The announcement came from the military through a statement on Sunday, hours after air force jets bombed hideouts of terrorists in the volatile region, claiming to have killed more than 120 militants. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will address the National Assembly on Monday (today) in a bid to take political parties into confidence on North Waziristan operation.

The move formally sealed the government’s policy to end the 13-year long insurgency through talks with the militants. North Waziristan is the only tribal region where the military has not launched a large military operation against militants, despite insistence from the US. The region until recently was harbouring several terrorist groups of local and foreign militants, including Chechens, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Tajiks and Uighurs. According to sources, many insurgents had recently vacated the main towns of the region and fled towards the rugged mountains on the border with Afghanistan.

The decision to launch a formal operation comes a week after Uzbek terrorists linked with the Taliban brazenly attacked the Karachi airport.

Military spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa said that on the directions of the federal government, the armed forces of Pakistan have launched a “comprehensive operation” against terrorists hiding in sanctuaries in the country’s restive North Waziristan Agency.

“The operation has been named Zarb-e-Azb,” he said. The meaning of Zarb-e-Azb is sharp and cutting. It is reportedly the sword used by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the battle of Badar.

The formal approval for the full scale offensive in North Waziristan was given to Pakistan Army by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif late on Saturday night. However sources told Pakistan Today that the premier had already directed Army chief General Raheel Sharif to complete all preparations for the operation during a recently held meeting on national security last week following which all corps and formation commanders had given final touches to the operation strategy.

Following the PM’s nod, fighter jets earlier on Sunday pounded insurgent hideouts in North Waziristan, killing about 120 terrorists, including two top commanders of the East Turkestan Movement (ETIM) in an aggressive response targeting those believed to be responsible for attacking the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi last Sunday.

The army claimed that the Uzbek mastermind of the airport attack in Sunday’s assault was also killed in the airstrikes. Abu Abdur Rehman al Mani was considered a key commander of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), also now famous by the name of Islamic Movement of Turkestan. The IMU, an organisation of militants mostly from the central Asian Uzbek state, had claimed that its suicide bombers carried out the attack on the Karachi airport.

The ETIM is a separatist militant outfit blamed for numerous terror attacks in China’s restive western region of Xinjiang. The Chinese government had recently pressed Pakistan to take action against the Uighur separatists based in North Waziristan.

The movement’s principle aim is to establish an independent Islamic state called East Turkestan.

“Around 120 terrorists, mostly Uzbek foreigners were killed in the strikes. An ammunition dump has also been destroyed,” the army said.

Pressure had been mounting on the government to respond to the attack. The strikes were the first military response to last Sunday’s assault on Karachi airport.

Using North Waziristan as a base, the terrorists had waged a war against Pakistan and had been disrupting normal life in all its dimensions, stunting our economic growth and causing enormous loss of life and property, Bajwa said.

“They had also paralysed life within the agency and had perpetually terrorised the entire peace loving and patriotic local population.”

“Our valiant armed forces have been tasked to eliminate these terrorists regardless of hue and colour, along with their sanctuaries,” the military spokesman said.

He said with the support of the entire nation, and in coordination with other state institutions and law enforcement agencies, these enemies of the state will be neutralised across Pakistan.

The long-awaited operation came after the Taliban attacked Karachi airport, considered a key asset of the country, killing at least 39 persons, including all the 10 Uzbek terrorists. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Following the brazen assault in Karachi, the US carried out two drone strikes in North Waziristan on Wednesday, the first time the controversial programme has been used this year. The same day, air force jets pounded suspected militant hideouts, leaving at least 25 dead.

A military official in Miramshah said that the coordinated operation — involving air force, artillery, tanks and ground troops — has already started. Strikes took place in the Boya tehsil, Degan forests and Datta Khel tehsil of North Waziristan.

After the announcement of the full-scale operation in the North Waziristan area, a security official on ground said that thousands of troops have been moved for action.

“Thousands of troops will participate in this action. You can roughly say 25,000 to 30,000 troops will be involved in the operation,” the official said on the condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to media.

In a related incident, five security personnel were injured when a remotely-controlled bomb targeted their vehicle in the Karam Kot area of North Waziristan.

OPERATION REFLECTS PUBLIC OPINION:

In a statement, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the government went through with peace talks, but once they failed the government decided to launch military action. He went on to add that civilians residing in that area will face difficulties due to the operation, but the government is prepared to assist them.

“The citizens should remain calm. The army is prepared to deal with difficult situations and will help civilians move,” he said, adding that air and ground forces are fully ready to act and will bring complete peace to the area.

“We will complete the operation as soon as possible,” he added.

Asif said that the decision of the operation against terrorists reflects the wishes of people of the country. “The government fully tried to resolve the issue through dialogue. He said the decision of the operation was taken thoughtfully, keeping in view all options, and it would continue till complete elimination of the enemies,” he said.

Information Minister Pervez Rashid appealed to all political parties to stand by the army during the operation. He went on to add that the militants will either drop their weapons or face defeat.

ANALYSTS SKEPTICAL:

A key question surrounding this operation will be whether it targets all the fighters equally, said Ayesha Siddiqa, author of “Military Inc.” about the Pakistani military. She also said that just focusing on North Waziristan ignores the wider problem of militants in the rest of the country.

“This is going half way, and not the full way,” she said.

Pakistan already has a sizeable military presence in North Waziristan, an estimated 28,000 to 30,000 troops, said defence analyst Zahid Hussain, whose book “The Scorpion’s Tale” plots the rise of militancy in Pakistan.

Hussain said militants had been using North Waziristan essentially as a training base. This operation will establish the military’s control across the territory and make it more difficult for militants to freely operate there. But, he warned, it won’t be easy, and it will likely spark reprisals.

“It is going to be a long drawn-out war. It is not going to end soon,” he said.

Meanwhile, security has been put on high alert in all major cities of the country, including the federal capital, Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Quetta. The provinces have beefed up police patrolling and intelligence and security agencies have been directed to keep a close vigil on suspicious elements.