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India-Pakistan |
North Waziristan Issue |
2012-08-14 |
[Dawn] THE rumour mill has been in overdrive since ISI chief Gen Zahirul Islam's recent visit to the US: will there or won't there be some kind of military action taken in North ![]() Is the drip-drip of leaks meant to prepare the country for a U-turn in policy on North Waziristan or is this just another game of cat and mouse with the US? On the ground, in North Waziristan itself, there is no sign of an imminent military operation. While the security forces in the agency number over 40,000 -- two army divisions, a Frontier Corps force and sundry local security personnel -- and the national and Fata disaster management agencies have long been told to prepare contingency plans for an outflow of IDPs, at the moment the reports from the area do not indicate any signs of a military operation about to be launched. Similarly, on the Afghan side, where Khost, Paktia and Paktika ...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo... are the obvious destinations for Orcs and similar vermin fleeing from North Waziristan, there is no sign yet that American or Afghan forces are gearing up for a battle with Orcs and similar vermin who may soon arrive. In trying to determine the likelihood of a military operation in North Waziristan at the moment, it may help to recall what the Americans have pushed Pakistain to do: one, squeeze the flow of money to the Haqqanis; two, sever the information links that keep the Haqqanis one step ahead of the Americans; and three, dismantle the Miranshah ... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministatein centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... hub that the Americans are convinced exists. So perhaps if not a major military operation, some other measures are being contemplated on the Pak side. But then, are half-measures in North Waziristan really in the interest of Pakistain? |
Posted by:trailing wife |