... as opposed to the more usual name-calling or slapsy...
involving artillery fire and helicopter gunships left dozens of alleged Death Eaters killed.
That was not entirely unexpected from an army constantly under Death Eater attack and with an escalating number of casualties. The incident reflected the growing frustration in the military command over the prolonged indecision of the national leadership on how to deal with bully boy sanctuaries in the region presenting the biggest threat to internal security.
There has been a marked increase in the frequency of IED attacks in recent days as the government begs the Death Eaters for peace. The new army chief's tough warning that terrorist attacks would not be tolerated anymore indicates that patience is running out.
But such punitive action in the absence of a clear counterinsurgency strategy has its downside too. The relentless artillery pounding of terrorist hideouts located amidst civilian population centres carries the risk of collateral damage. It is therefore not surprising that the offensive may have cost some civilian deaths as alleged by some political parties. The fierce fighting also forced many to flee their homes evoking angry protests feeding into the bully boys' narrative against military action.
What is more worrisome, however, is the intriguing silence of the politicianship on the brazen bully boy attacks and the military reaction. This ambivalence virtually de-legitimises the army's action against the attackers. Instead, there is ever-stronger rhetoric about talks with the Taliban and the army's withdrawal from the tribal areas.
This apologetic stance adds to the bully boy propaganda campaign. In fact some political parties such as the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is
Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
and other right-wing groups echo the bully boy version of events in North Waziristan adding to the prevalent confusion over the gravity of the terrorist threat.
The latest surge in attacks on Pak forces in North Waziristan appears to be a calculated move by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain to bring a weak-kneed national leadership under further pressure. Reports emanating from the region suggest that the TTP is preparing to launch a new wave of terrorist strikes against security forces in North Waziristan. The group has warned the rustics to leave their homes. Mullah Fazlullah
...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan...
, the new TTP chief, who is now believed to have shifted his base from across the border in Afghanistan's Kunar province
... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country.....
to North Waziristan, has vowed to escalate attacks on the Pakistain Army.
While the TTP plans to engage security forces in new guerilla warfare, the national leadership does not seem to have a clear strategy to respond to this threat. Last week, the top civil and military leadership approved a much-delayed draft of a new national security policy. But there's a long way to go before it is implemented.
Although its contours are not clear, officials claim the proposed policy provides a comprehensive strategy to deal with militancy and terrorism. The policy awaits cabinet approval. It is still to be seen how effective this will prove.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the new policy assigns top priority to dialogue with the TTP and the use of force would be the last option. There is certainly no disagreement on peace talks with the TTP or any other group. But the main issue is whether the Death Eaters are interested in constructive dialogue and will give up violence.
It is not the first time that peace offers have been made by the government. In fact, more than half a dozen peace deals were signed with Death Eaters in the past. None of them have worked -- the peace accords were used by Death Eaters to regroup and expand their activities.
One such deal which is not effective anymore was reached in North Waziristan with local rustics in 2006. Thus the arguments by the PML-N government and politicians like Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who isn't your heaviest-duty thinker, maybe not even among the top five...
that peace has never been given a chance are flawed. It is also not true that the peace deals were broken because of US drone strikes.
The government seems to be stuck on the dialogue mantra despite its repeated rejection by Mullah Fazlullah and leaders of other TTP factions. Dismissing the concept of peace talks immediately after the government's announcement of using force as a last resort, Shahidullah Shahid, a front man for the TTP, warned that the bully boyz were ready for battle.
How long will the government keep begging for talks while the TTP keeps blowing up our soldiers with IEDs and killing innocent people? What is most dangerous is the narrative adopted by some politicians that talks were the only option. It does not only breed inaction, it also legitimises bully boy violence.
There is a total consensus among security officials that North Waziristan has become the epicentre of militancy threatening national as well as regional security. Almost all major terrorist attacks in Pakistain in recent times have roots in the region. There is no way Pakistain can effectively fight terrorism without eliminating the bully boy training camps based there.
The rapidly deteriorating security situation in North Waziristan presents a defining challenge for the country's new civilian and military leadership. Failing to confront this effectively will have serious consequences not just for Pakistain's national security, but for regional peace as well.